Cedar Falls committee sets $12.50 proposed maximum levy, schedules April 7 hearing

The City of Cedar Falls Committee of the Whole on Monday recommended that City Council set a proposed maximum property tax levy of $12.50 per $1,000 of assessed value for fiscal year 2026 and scheduled a special public hearing for April 7 at 5:15 p.m.

Finance staff member Jennifer Odenbeck, who presented the budget background and the proposed rate, said the $12.50 figure reflects personnel and benefit cost increases and capital spending included in the draft budget but emphasized the figure is the maximum and “we can always go down. It's the top. It can always go down.”

The discussion centered on how recent state legislation, House File 718, and changes to rollback and backfill rules affect Cedar Falls’ revenue and how the new mandatory taxpayer notice may overstate the typical homeowner’s tax increase. Odenbeck told the committee the city’s current tax rate is $11.86; a $12.50 levy represents a 64-cent increase. Using a $100,000 home as an example, she said the budgeted rate would raise annual city taxes by about $43, or 7.87…