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Madison County supervisors set levy notice, weigh modest revenue growth and tight budget limits
Summary
Supervisors agreed to publish the taxpayer levy notice using last year's levy rates as a conservative starting point while departments continue to pare requests; staff reported maximum levy calculations and a limited near-term revenue increase that leaves a narrow margin for new spending.
Madison County's Board of Supervisors met in a budget work session to finalize figures for the required taxpayer notice and to evaluate department requests against limited revenue growth.
Speaker 3 urged the board to publish the notice promptly "rather sooner rather than later," noting that once the notice is published the county cannot raise levy rates though it can lower them. Staff recommended publishing the notice using the same levy rates as last year as a conservative approach while they continue working to reduce proposed spending.
Speaker 1 relayed department calculations provided by Carrie, saying the maximum general levy for 2026 was "3.33143" (yielding a revenue growth estimate of about 2.78 percent) and that the rural maximum was "3.65279" (with revenue growth ~2.35 percent). According to the figures discussed, the general fund could be increased by $112,207 and the rural basic fund by $72,653, for a combined available increase of roughly $185,000; Speaker 1 noted the county's budget requests exceed that sum.
Members stressed the importance of verifying numbers and supporting spreadsheets before final publication. The group also discussed a recent assessment-system hiccup in Solutions that staff said had been corrected and that valuations from the assessor's office (submitted in December) are driving the allowable levy increases.
Because several revenue items remain uncertain, board members favored conservative budgeting. On one example, the ambulance budget currently shows a $70,000 grant on both expenditures and revenue lines; several supervisors recommended assuming the grant might not be available and preparing to repay it if required.
No formal adoption of the budget took place at the work session; staff were directed to verify figures, prepare the levy notice for publication under Iowa Code 24.2A and circulate the supporting email/spreadsheet to supervisors for final review. The board moved and seconded adjournment at the end of the session.
