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Clear Creek Amana staff clarifies 2025-26 proposed tax notice, says levy change limited to 2¢
Summary
At a public hearing the Clear Creek Amana Community School District explained how mailed tax notices and a widely circulated example led to misimpressions; staff said a 10% assessed-value example in the notice is hypothetical and that the district's proposed rate change would be two cents if any change is needed.
The Clear Creek Amana Community School District opened a public hearing on the district—s proposed fiscal year 2025-26 tax notice and clarified how examples in mailed notices can create misleading expectations about next year—s taxes.
Laurie, a district staff member presenting the item, said the two red figures on the mailed notice represent the district—s current total levy rate of 17.01 and the proposed rate for fiscal 2026 of 17.03. "Those two in the red" are the district—s rates, she said, adding that the larger percentage increases appearing in some examples stem from a hypothetical 10% assessed-value increase used only for illustration.
Laurie said the 10% assessed-value scenario is hypothetical and does not apply automatically for fiscal 2026 because Iowa assesses property values for changes in odd-numbered years unless a property has had a qualifying improvement and been reassessed. She told the board that under the district—s actual assumptions the levy would change by about two cents, not the large percentage shown in the hypothetical example. "If our rate changes, it will be 2¢," Laurie said.
A resident at the meeting challenged the example, saying his county-assessed values mailed in January showed an increase of more than 10 percent; he asked whether that higher number would be used for future calculations. Laurie replied the assessed values used for fiscal 2026 calculations are based on the earlier baseline (calendar-year 2024 figures) and that increases reported in 2025 would generally take effect in fiscal 2027.
The presenter also explained the role of the state—s formulas: the rollback percentage used to determine taxable value has changed for fiscal 2026 and was set by the Iowa Department of Revenue. She said the rollback for fiscal 2026 rose by 2.3 percent, which affects the tax due calculation. The district—s slide deck and the handouts distributed at the meeting included a line-by-line example using a Johnson County property in the city of Tiffin to show how multiple taxing entities (school district, Johnson County, city of Tiffin) appear on a property tax notice.
Laurie emphasized that the notices and the commonly circulated calculator show an illustrative result (for example, a 12.7 percent increase on a $100,000 assessed-value example) if assessed values rose 10 percent. "That's hypothetical and that is not what the district is asking of you," she said, pointing to the district's actual proposed levy figures.
She also reviewed other revenue sources that affect the district budget. Income surtaxes and state aid have changed after recent state legislative reductions in income-tax rates; the district has seen income-surtax receipts decline and property-tax collections rise to compensate because school funding is dollar-driven, she said.
No members of the public asked to speak further, and the board closed the public hearing before moving on to other business.
The board did not take a formal vote on the tax levy at the special meeting; this hearing was informational and intended to explain the mailed notices and answer questions about the examples and timing of assessed-value changes.
