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Clive mayor outlines budget priorities, says property taxes held steady as $40M capital plan advances
Summary
Mayor John told residents Clive’s tax rate has been maintained or lowered for 10 years, previewed a roughly $40 million capital-improvement program focused on flood mitigation, streets and parks, and announced upcoming public meetings and project timelines.
Mayor John opened the State of the City presentation by telling residents the council’s priorities are fiscal stewardship, resilient infrastructure and neighborhood revitalization and that the city will hold a public truth-in-taxation hearing Thursday at 5:30. "We want to keep our property taxes fair and predictable," he said, noting the city’s tax rate is 99.92 per $1,000 and that the rate has been maintained or lowered for the past 10 years.
John gave residents concrete examples to show household impacts: on a home valued at $318,000, the city’s calculation would yield about a $116 decrease from the previous year; on a business valued at $1 million, the mayor said the city portion would increase by roughly $160. He emphasized that the city typically receives about 30% of a property tax bill while the school district and other entities receive the larger shares.
On capital spending, staff outlined a roughly $40 million plan that prioritizes flood mitigation, street rehabilitation and park projects. Key figures provided included $14 million for street work, a $5 million Lenan Park renovation, an $11 million Green Belt Landing project and a $12 million green-belt expansion over multiple years. City staff also cited several larger projects with multi-year timelines, including a major Hickman interchange project with significant regional and grant funding.
Officials said intercity cooperation has produced operating savings: the city cited about $85,000 in annual savings from sharing ladder and engine services with Urbandale, more than $630,000 in savings from station optimizations and about $1.3 million saved by sharing EMS coverage instead of constructing a new station. "We're very conservative in our budgeting and we don't expect expenses to exceed that budgeted amount," John said.
The mayor urged residents to use the city’s online property-tax calculator to see individualized impacts and closed by inviting questions and promising the administration will continue to prioritize service levels while keeping taxes predictable. The council did not take formal votes during the presentation; several agenda items and future staff reports were described as coming back for council consideration.
