Black Hawk County adopts FY2026 budget, sets tax asking at $38.29 million

The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors on Thursday approved and adopted the county’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and approved appropriations at 100% of the budget, setting total tax askings at $38,285,148.

The budget hearing and subsequent vote followed a presentation by Michelle Wietner, Black Hawk County finance director, who said the county’s total property-tax collection increase for FY2026 is 3.7%, producing $32,285,148 in property-tax collections after adjustments. “After all that is done, our total property tax collections increase is 3.7%. So we’re below 4% now. The amount is $32,285,148,” Wietner said during the presentation.

Why it matters: The budget establishes county levy rates, spending priorities and plans for capital projects and borrowing that affect residential, commercial and agricultural property owners across Black Hawk County.

Wietner’s presentation and the board’s discussion highlighted several key points that shaped the adopted plan: the board did not add any new positions for FY2026; salary increases were absorbed within departmental budgets where possible; the county plans to use a combination of fund balance (reserves), bonding and ARPA allocations to meet capital needs; and debt service is planned to increase modestly to fund projects.

Levy and taxpayer examples: The countywide tax levy was presented at $5.57 (countywide combined levies), with a rural levy component reported at about $3.70. Wietner gave examples to show taxpayer impact on a flat assessed value basis: an urban residential property with $100,000 assessed value would see an estimated tax of $264; a $500,000 commercial property about $2,152; a $1,000,000 industrial property about $4,006.59; a rural residential property $440; and an agricultural property on $100,000 value about $685. She noted some slide numbers were calculated on a flat value for ease of citizen comparison and that the packet contained adjusted sheets that reflect changes in assessed values.

Budget composition and priorities: Operating expenses were presented at roughly $8.79 million, with salaries making up about 50% of operating costs. Wietner said operating expenses grew about 2% overall and debt service was projected to increase about 12% this year (after a prior-year decline), while capital expenses were projected to decline about 4% as ARPA-funded projects taper.

On program spending, the sheriff’s patrol and public safety remain large portions of the rural and county budgets (patrol accounts for about 35% of the rural fund expenditures; dispatch about 10%). The transfer to secondary roads is nearly half of rural fund expenditures (47.8%) and roads represented about 10.5% of county service-area spending. Public safety and legal services were reported as the largest single service category at 32.8% (chiefly jail services).

Capital planning and borrowing: The finance director outlined a multi-year capital improvement plan and anticipated bond issuance schedule: a $5 million bond issue in the spring (estimated at 4% interest in the projection) and further anticipated issues in 2027 and beyond. The presentation excluded a property and evidence building request because it had not been submitted, and Wietner said some departmental capital requests are not bond-eligible and would be paid from fund balance.

Reserves and fund balance: Wietner said the county has committed roughly $4.1 million in fiscal 2025 commitments drawn from fund balance and anticipates reducing the unassigned fund balance as the board funds capital and other commitments.

Salary schedule and rounding note: The board read portions of the FY2026 elected-official salary schedule aloud. The finance director noted the historical salary sheet sometimes uses rounded figures: for example, the current board supervisor salary on file is $44,044.19 and a true 10% increase would be $48,448.61, though the printed figure the board reviewed was $48,440. The board discussed whether to accept the rounded figure or update it to the unrounded 10% amount and left the value at the rounded figure as presented.

Public comment and process: No members of the public offered comments during the hearing. Board members and staff expressed thanks to department heads and budget staff for the multi-week process of assembling scenarios and responding to state-level changes that affected levy calculations.

Formal actions taken: The board moved to receive and place on file the proofs of publication for the hearing notices (published 04/08/2025 and 04/10/2025) and later adopted a resolution approving and adopting the FY2026 budget, including total tax askings of $38,285,148. The board also adopted a resolution approving appropriations at 100% of the FY2026 budget. Both resolutions were adopted by roll call vote with all members present recorded as voting in the affirmative.

What’s next: The finance office will publish final budget documents and continue work on the capital-improvement financing plan; projected bond issues and exact debt-service impacts will be refined in coming months as bond counsel and market conditions are evaluated.