Cedar Falls council adopts FY26 budget at $12.20 levy after debate on tax increase

The Cedar Falls City Council voted to adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget and set the property tax rate at $12.20 per $1,000 of taxable valuation, a package City staff said will raise the tax bill on a $100,000 home by about $29 a year, or roughly 5.2 percent.

The budget presented at the meeting reflects reductions previously approved by the council from an earlier $12.50 proposed rate. Director Ronback, who presented the budget, said, "The budget was published and presented to the taxpayers in the letter at the $12.50 rate. However...what's before you tonight is at the $12.20. The impact of that $12.20 for residential is about 5.2% or on a hundred thousand dollars home. That's about $29 a year." He told the council the city must file the final document with the county and the state of Iowa by the April 30 deadline and that the full budget would be posted on the city's website after adoption.

Why it matters: Council members who pressed for a lower levy argued residents are already seeing high inflation and that the city had unspent reserves that could be used to buy down the rate slightly. Councilor Cruz (last name used in the meeting) said city policy adopted at goal setting called for limiting tax increases to the inflation rate and cited Iowa Code section 441.21 in explaining rollback calculations. Cruz proposed reallocating about $134,750 from existing capital or project funds to reduce the levy; his memo listed specific line items he suggested trimming, including: $6,500 for conference room table replacement, $21,250 for the community-wide strategic plan, $52,000 for College Hill visioning and zoning, $30,000 for energy efficiencies, and $25,000 for a national community survey.

Supporters of the budget said the $12.20 rate reflected substantial prior cuts and was necessary to maintain services, staff levels and planned capital work. One councilor noted that some capital buckets are set aside to avoid future bonding and that diverting those funds would reduce fiscal flexibility for expected projects. After debate, the motion to approve the FY26 budget carried on a roll-call vote: 6 in favor, 1 opposed.

The council will forward the approved levy and budget documents to the state by the statutory deadline. Director Ronback said the city will update the published documents on cedarfalls.com following submission.

Ending: The council adopted the budget as its final action on the item; residents were told the full budget package will be available online after formal filing with county and state offices.