Johnson County holds public hearing on proposed FY2026 property tax levy; residents press for road, waste and library details

Johnson County Board of Supervisors opened a public hearing Wednesday on the county's proposed fiscal year 2026 property tax levy, hearing a staff presentation on the proposed increases and taking more than an hour of public comment from rural residents concerned about road maintenance, landfill tipping limits and library and conservation funding.

Dana Ascherbender, of the Johnson County finance department, told the board the county's proposed general services tax asking for FY2026 is about 8.75% higher than the current year — an increase Ascherbender described as “about a $5,700,000” rise to a total of roughly $70,800,000 — and that the countywide levy rate would rise by roughly 4.7%, or about 30 cents, to $6.73 per $1,000 of assessed value. Ascherbender said the increases are driven primarily by planned courthouse construction, restoration and repair work at the county jail and sheriff's office, and higher transfers to the secondary roads department.

Ascherbender also said the county's rural services tax asking would rise roughly 2.6% (an increase of about $191,359) to a total of $7,448,166 and that the rural services levy rate was proposed to remain unchanged from the current fiscal year. Ascherbender explained one county benefit for unincorporated households: an annual household allowance to use the…