Cardinal Superintendent comments on tax levy proposal and meeting

There will be a public meeting held on Monday March 23rd for a proposed property tax levy by the Maquoketa Community School District.

The proposed increase would see the grand total of the levy increase funds from 6.1 million to just under 6.5 million. As described in their proposal that has been posted to their website, residential property with a value of around 100-thousand dollars would see their taxes paid increase from 609 dollars to 629 dollars.

Commercial property would see a larger increase however. A property valued at 300-thousand would see their annual taxes paid increase from 2,648 dollars to 2,938 dollars.

KMAQ reached out to the Maquoketa Community School District Superintendent Tara Notz for comment on the topic.

She referenced that while the total amount collected is expected to increase, the actual tax rate itself will be decreasing ever so slightly from 12.845% to 12.839% as seen on the notice. Notz also stated that the increase in dollars collected “is largely driven by factors outside the district’s control”, such as changes in property valuations, the state’s Supplemental State Aid calculations, and increased insurance costs.

Notz then welcomed any and all members of the public to attend the meeting to discuss the levy with school officials.

A meeting for public feedback and opinion has been scheduled for Monday March 23rd at 5:30pm at the Central Office Board Room located on 612 S Vermont Street.

Here is Tara Notz’s full unedited statement:

The Maquoketa Community School District would like to clarify information related to the proposed property tax levy and the public hearing scheduled for Monday, March 23.

While the published notice shows an increase in the total dollars collected, the actual school district property tax rate is proposed to decrease slightly by a fraction of a penny. This can be confusing because the state-required notice focuses on total dollars generated rather than the tax rate itself.

The increase in total dollars reflected in the notice is largely driven by factors outside the district’s control, including changes in property valuations, the state’s Supplemental State Aid (SSA) calculation, and increases in required costs such as property, casualty, and liability insurance.

The Board of Education has actually proposed a slight reduction in the district’s overall tax rate, but because property valuations have increased, the total amount of dollars generated through the levy appears higher in the state-required notice.

The public hearing on March 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the Central Office Board Room (612 S. Vermont Street) is an opportunity for community members to learn more about the proposed levy, ask questions, and provide feedback. District leaders and the Board of Education will be available to help explain how the levy works and what factors influence the final property tax amounts.

If you would like to view the published tax levy proposal for yourself, click here to visit their website.