Now is the time to speak up. The sausage-making is almost done and local elected officials are deciding how much of your money they will spend next year.
Their spending is the only reason your property tax bill increases. As assessments increase, school boards, city councils, and county supervisors could choose to lower levy rates enough to lower your bill or keep it the same.
However, in too many school districts, cities, and counties, there is a gap between the amount of property taxes extracted from citizens and the community's growth. For example, one Iowa school district is collecting 90 percent more in property taxes than it did 10 years ago, while the number of students has remained the same.
What is going on? Why is this happening?
It happens for different reasons in each locality across the state, but the heart of the problem is a failure to talk with local elected officials.
Visit itrlocal.org to see how your community compares and send a message to the people who make your property tax bill.
