County to inform property owners of levy rates

Union County Auditor Sandy Hysell informed the board of supervisors Monday the mailing notifying all property owners in the county of the tax levy rates where the property is located will be mailed today.

The mailing is part of state legislation approved last year by Gov. Kim Reynolds. The ruling caps levy rates for cities and counties. Cities will have a general fund levy, consolidated from 15 existing levies, capped at $8.10 per $1,000 in taxable value. Counties have a cap of $3.50 per $1,000 for general services and $3.95 for rural services.

Local governments are placed into three tiers based on their revenue growth with different formulas to determine how much of the excess revenue must be dedicated to lowering property taxes, and the process for bringing existing property tax rates down to those set maximums. For counties above the amounts, they have been suggested to incrementally lower the amount until 2029 when the law takes full effect.

The statement will include information regarding school, county and city proposed budget tax rates that are payable in September and March 2025 as well as information about scheudled public hearings regarding the proposed tax rates.

The statement will include: time, date and location of public hearings regarding tax rates.

Phone number and website (If applicable) for each associated taxing authority.

Current, effective and proposed tax rate information.

Comparison of current, effective and proposed tax rates.

How current taxes levied by school, county and city are distributed.

Comparison of how taxes would be distributed in current and proposed budget years.

Hysell said the purpose of statement is to provide taxpayers with all pertinent information about tax levies where the property is located in Union County. Budgets may be lowered after the hearings, but not raised. Property owners with more than one property may receive multiple letters if those properties are in different tax districts.