Johnson tax proposal up in county

IOWA CITY - Rural Johnson County property owners face a higher tax rate next fiscal year while city dwellers would see a decrease under a budget proposal released Wednesday by the Board of Supervisors.

The finishing touches were still being put on the budget, and a figure on how much money the county expects to spend in fiscal 2011 was not yet available. County departments were asked to keep their budgets relatively flat, however, because of the economy.

The Board of Supervisors plans to vote on the budget March 11.

The proposed levy for unincorporated areas is $10.50 per $1,000 of taxable value, up from $9.97 this year.

The levy for property in city limits would be $7.33 per $1,000, down from $7.39 this year.

Homeowners in the cities would see slightly higher county tax bills, however, because of an increase in the percentage of a residential property's value that is subject to taxation. That is known as the rollback and is set by the state.

The owners of a $100,000 home in rural areas would pay $37.86 more in county taxes next year compared with this year. In Iowa City, homeowners would pay $10.50 more, and people in other cities would pay $6.67 more.

If you live in one of the smaller cities, “that's not too bad for all the services we're providing,” supervisor Rod Sullivan said.

The supervisors said rural residents have told them they want better roads, so the board plans to increase rural taxes to put more money toward road maintenance.

“They're going to pay a little bit more, but they're going to get better roads out of the deal,” supervisor Terrence Neuzil said.

Owners of rural agricultural land would pay $46.16 more in county taxes next year. Other property classifications face varying degrees of changes.

The supervisors Wednesday also said elected officials would get 1.4 percent salary raises, which is less than the 2 percent recommended by the county compensation board. They also decided all non-union employees would get 2.75 percent pay raises, which is in line with what most union employees will receive.