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Residents urge council to delay property tax levy increase as staff explains state cap effects
Summary
At a public hearing on the city property tax levy, two Sheldon residents urged the council not to raise the levy, citing rising assessments and pressure on seniors; staff said taxable growth is 7.26% but state code caps revenue growth at 4.14%, reducing projected revenues.
A public hearing on the city property tax levy drew two residents who asked the Sheldon City Council not to increase the levy and recommended waiting until the budget hearing before final action.
Mar Van Reason of Sheldon told the council the city has experienced significant assessment-driven revenue growth in recent years and said she opposed raising the levy now, arguing the council should review the budget first so it can identify potential cuts. "When you look at the overall budget, how much money we've taken in the last good number of years with the assessments going up, it's been tremendous," she said. She urged the council to "reduce the levy" and to consider the impact on senior citizens, who face rising Medicare costs alongside modest Social Security increases.
Carl Doff, also of Sheldon, echoed those concerns and asked the council to "curtail increases as much as possible," calling a roughly 6% notice to households a difficult burden for many residents.
City staff responded with the details posted with the hearing notice. Sam said the citywide taxable valuation used in the notice increased from $2,225,616 to $2,365,263 — a change that would produce roughly $130,000 in additional levy revenue before adjustments. He added that the city's taxable growth for the upcoming fiscal year is 7.26%, but state code limits revenue growth to 4.14%, which reduces the revenue increase by $38,774 compared with an uncapped calculation. Sam also noted the city portion of the levy change is less than $0.05 per $1,000 of valuation and cited higher insurance premiums as one factor pushing costs up.
Council members asked for clarification about multiple percentages mentioned during the hearing (a 1% rollback after rollback calculations, a proposed 2% legislative cap and the current 4.14% cap), and staff explained that proposed legislation could change how growth is included in caps and therefore affect city revenues.
After discussion, the council closed the public hearing by roll call. The levy will proceed through upcoming budget hearings and the council may adjust its final action after further budget review.
