Chickasaw County holds public hearing on proposed FY 2026–27 maximum property tax levies; no public comments

The chair of the Chickasaw County board opened a public hearing at 9:01 a.m. March 23 on the proposed maximum property tax levies for fiscal year 2026–27 and said no written comments were received.

"This public hearing is required for Iowa Code 24.2A as part of the county certified budget process," the chair said, adding that attendees who wished to speak should sign the sheet and that each speaker would have a maximum of three minutes.

The chair presented proposed maximum levy figures that were described in the meeting record as follows: an urban maximum levy of 5.22276 and a rural maximum levy of 8.32276, both described as decreases from the prior request; a general basic (GB) levy at 3.39806; a general supplemental levy at 1.39256; and an "RSV" levy reported at $3.10 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. The chair also said departments were asked to limit expense growth to 2% and that overall expense requests averaged roughly 1% across departments.

The transcript records the chair saying assessors' evaluations produced "about $9,191,000,000 roughly" of increased valuation placed on county property records; that figure is reported here as stated in the meeting record and may reflect a transcription or reporting error (see audit note). The chair noted residents have expressed concern about how tax bills affect homeowners on fixed incomes: "some of our residents are asking that question, how can they stay in their houses if they have to pay these bills?"

County Assessor Ray Armel was invited as a liaison to answer technical questions if needed. The chair said Armel was not a Chickasaw County property owner or resident and that, under the rules for the public hearing, Armel could not speak about a resident's maximum levy; Armel affirmed that limitation.

No written comments were entered into the record and no members of the public spoke at the hearing. The board closed the hearing at 9:07 a.m. and took routine procedural votes to adjourn at 9:08 a.m.

Votes at a glance: motion to approve the March agenda for the FY 2026–27 public hearing — adopted (record shows Isaac associated with adoption); motion to open the public hearing — moved by Travis, second by Steve, passed on roll call (ayes recorded for Travis, Steve, Isaac, Scott and Jake); motion to close the public hearing — moved by Travis, second by Scott, passed (all aye); motion to adjourn — moved by Steve, second by Aileen, passed (all aye).

Next steps: The chair said the next public hearing will address total budget approval and that the board may lower levies later if valuations decline. The county did not receive any written comments during this hearing, and no further public testimony was recorded at this session.