The Marshall County property tax statements payable in September 2020 and March 2021 have been printed and are on their way to your mailbox if they have not already arrived. When you look at your tax statement you will see a detailed tax distribution breakdown of where your tax dollars go; to your school district, city, county, township and more.

Most property owners are finding their property taxes have gone up. Overall this fiscal year the Marshall County Treasurer’s Office is certified to collect $60.8 million in property taxes. This figure is up 8.2% percent from last year.

A portion of this increase is directly correlated to new value across our county, as growth is what we want for our communities. But it is important to note, your taxing authorities are requesting more of your tax dollars.

One example is Iowa Valley Community College District property tax asking increased 94 percent from last year totaling $8.28 million. Much of this increase is a result of paying for the bond that the citizens voted for last November.

Here is a quick look at the largest pieces of the total pie and percentage increase from last year:

• Marshalltown School District: $18.8 million, up 4 percent

• Marshall County: $13.7 million, up 8 percent

• City of Marshalltown: $12.9 million, up 8 percent

• East Marshall School District: $4.2 million, up 10 percent

• West Marshall School District: $3.7 million, up 12 percent

• Green Mountain-Garwin School District: $2.1 million, up 9 percent

• City of State Center: $556,000, up 14 percent

• Marshall County Assessor: $477,000, up 33 percent

Additionally, many farmers will see their assessments went down on their agriculture land, yet taxable values have gone up from the past year. This is a result of the agriculture land rollback increase from 56.1 percent last year to 81.5 percent, which the rollback multiplied by assessed value equals taxable value. The increase in the agriculture land rollback in addition to the tax authority property tax asking increase, is bringing about a 15-25 percent increase in property taxes on farmland for many farmers. The Iowa Department of Revenue computes the rollback by the statewide market of each particular class of property. I would urge our state government to revisit the computation of the rollback to prevent a disproportionate increase in taxes for one particular class of property over another as our ag community in Marshall County is seeing first hand this year.

As citizens we do what it takes to make ends meet and we expect our government; local, state and federal to do the same. When millions of your local tax dollars are being spent, it is important to be involved and informed on the decisions your elected officials — city council, board of supervisors, school board, state legislators etc. — are making. Their decisions directly determine the amount due on your tax statement today.

Locally we’ve dealt with a lot of challenges with the tornado two years ago and the recent derecho storm on top of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, there are no property tax deadline extensions for the first half payments. If an extension is granted by the Governor’s Office, the Treasurer’s Office will publicize to let the public know.

Property taxes are due Sept. 30 in the Marshall County Treasurer’s Office which is located on the second floor of the downtown Great Western Bank in Marshalltown. Online payments can be made at www.iowatreasurers.org. Payments can be sent by mail to Marshall County Treasurer, 1 E Main St, Marshalltown, IA 50158. 

Marshall County property information can be found at www.marshallcountyproperty.com. Anyone with questions regarding property tax inquiries should contact the Marshall County Treasurer’s Office at 641-844-2730 or TreasurersOffice@marshallcountyia.gov.

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Jarret Heil is the Marshall County Treasurer.