Buckeye council approves $16.68 million primary property tax levy after truth-in-taxation hearing
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Summary
After a statutorily required truth-in-taxation hearing, the Buckeye City Council approved a $16,678,998 primary property tax levy for fiscal year 2025–26. Finance staff said rising assessed values and new construction account for most of the increase; the proposed primary tax rate will be $1.60 per $100 of assessed value.
Buckeye — The City Council on June 3 held a public hearing required by state law and approved the primary property tax levy for fiscal year 2025–26 at $16,678,998.
The hearing matters because the levy funds city services paid from the primary property tax and must follow state truth-in-taxation procedures; the council’s action sets the levy that will appear on tax bills later this year.
Bill Coppi, the city finance presenter, said the proposed levy reflects three components: last year’s levy, an added amount for new construction (just over $1 million), and an increase for existing-property values of about $326,007.94. Coppi said Buckeye’s total primary assessed value reached roughly $1 billion this year, driving the levy upward but lowering the tax rate to a proposed $1.60 per $100 of assessed value from higher historical rates. “As our assessed values grow, our tax levies also grow,” Coppi said during the presentation.
Coppi explained that the state constitution constrains primary levies and that the formal truth-in-taxation dollar amount being discussed was roughly $326,794. He gave an example that a home with $100,000 in assessed value would see tax at roughly $160 a year at the proposed $1.60 rate.
The council opened the public hearing and received no public comment on the levy. Councilmember Berry, Councilmember Goodman, Councilmember Hagestad, Councilmember Beard, Vice Mayor Eustace and Mayor Osborne voted to approve the levy; Councilmember Yonker was absent. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with six yes, zero no and one absent.
The presentation also showed that residential property represented the largest year-over-year rise in assessed value, with notable increases in residential rental and commercial categories. Coppi said the primary levy discussion concerns only the primary tax and does not include any secondary taxes.
Council did not take additional amendments or direction on the levy at the meeting; the approved figure will be incorporated into the city’s FY26 revenue plan and into property tax notices as required by state law.
