Coralville holds public hearing on proposed FY2027 property tax levy; staff detail rollback math and impacts

Coralville Mayor Laurie Goodrich opened a public hearing March 24 on the city’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 property tax levy, telling attendees the meeting was to receive comment on the maximum levy the city must submit to Johnson County. The council will set the actual levy when it adopts the budget after a second public hearing at 6:30 p.m. April 28.

A Coralville business owner who spoke during public comment said the proposed increase was "making things out of control," adding that higher taxes would force rents up and risk tenants leaving. "Businesses will increase their costs across the board, and they have people already who can’t afford things," the speaker said, and asked the council to reconsider the increase and to notify affected property owners about future hearings.

Deputy City Administrator Ellen Habel responded that the March hearing is for the statutory maximum levy and that staff are continuing to look for ways to lower the final levy. "We are also waiting to find out what actions the legislature might take regarding property taxes in the next few weeks," Habel said, and she advised members of the public to sign up on the city website to receive meeting agendas and notices of future hearings.

City Administrator Kevin Olson and Mayor Goodrich acknowledged that the statewide informational letter many property owners received can be confusing. Olson said the letter uses standard assumptions (for example, a uniform 10% value change) that may not reflect an individual property’s assessment, and reiterated that the number submitted today is the maximum and that the council will adopt the levy with the budget following the April 28 public hearing.

Finance Director Ann Hester reviewed the tax-rate mechanics and the projected impacts for Coralville. She said taxable property values in the city rose 4.76% but that state law applies a 2% limitation factor so General Fund growth was effectively limited to 2.70%. Hester said the proposed maximum rate for FY2027 is $14.85 per $1,000 of taxable value (rounded), compared with $14.53 for FY2026.

Hester said the state rollback for residential and multi-residential property is dropping from 47.43% to 44.53% for FY2027; she gave illustrative impacts at the proposed maximum rate: residential properties would see about a 4% tax decrease, roughly $27.55 less per $100,000 of assessed value. For commercial property, the first $150,000 of value is taxed at the residential rollback and would see about a $41.32 decrease at that bracket; commercial value above $150,000 would be taxed at 90% and could see an increase in tax burden.

Several residents criticized the county/state notice and website. A longtime resident said the online spreadsheet provided by the state was effectively a blank template that required users to know what to enter, and another attendee urged improvements to the state’s informational materials. Staff noted the County Treasurer Scott Finlayson will help residents interpret the county’s materials.

Councilmember Knudson reminded property owners that they may contest assessed values with the County Assessor and summarized that the city’s action at this meeting was to set the maximum levy; the council will finalize the budget and adopt the actual levy following the April 28 public hearing. The meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m. after a motion by Knudson, seconded by Huynh.

What’s next: The council will hold a second public hearing on the FY2027 budget and levy at 6:30 p.m. April 28 and is awaiting any legislative changes that could alter the city’s final levy decision.