Linn County Supervisors approve budget for fiscal year 2026

CEDAR RAPIDS — The countywide levy rate will decrease for the upcoming fiscal year, per an annual budget approved this week by the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

The supervisors on Wednesday unanimously approved the budget for fiscal year 2026, which spans July 1 through June 30, 2026. As approved, the FY26 budget totals $166.2 million — up 5.8 percent from the prior fiscal year.

The proposal was crafted through a series of public meetings involving department heads, elected officials and Linn County residents that began in November. A complete budget book will be made available this summer, although the highlights already are available on the county website.

Per the approved budget, the countywide levy rate will decrease to $6.06 in fiscal 2026 from the current rate of $6.07, and the rural rate will drop from $2.63 to $2.60 in fiscal year 2026 including the $1 reduction offered to rural residents because of the voter-approved local-option sales tax allocation.

“Each year, the board works hard to craft a county budget that’s not only balanced, but responsible,” said Linn County Board of Supervisors Chair Brandy Z. Meisheid. “It may not be exactly what any one person envisioned, but it reflects the thoughtful collaboration and shared priorities of this board.”

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Despite the levy rate decrease, however, Budget Manager Sara Bearrows told supervisors that residential and agricultural property owners can still expect to see an increase in their Linn County tax bill.

Bearrows attributed the discrepancy to increases to the state-mandated rollback, which determines the portion of a property’s assessed value that can be taxed for different land use types.

For fiscal year 2026, the residential rollback rate will increase to 47.4 percent, up from 46.3 percent the year prior.

As such, the owner of a house with an assessed value of $200,000 will see a $574.49 annual county tax bill in fiscal year 2026, not accounting for taxes due from other taxing authorities. For fiscal year 2025 — when residential rollbacks were at a 45-year low — that figure was $562.57.

“We did lower the (county) levy rate, but because more value is taxed this year some homeowners may see that increase,” Bearrows said. “We don’t have any control over that. That’s a statewide program from the Department of Revenue.”

The rollback also increased for agricultural land for fiscal year 2026, although the commercial rollback remained unchanged.

Download: Linn.County.Budget.Overview

Expenditures, revenue both on the rise

The county’s approved $166.2 million expenditure budget is up $9.1 million from fiscal year 2025. Bearrows said the increase was primarily caused by increases to employee salaries and wages, software contracts and grants.

The proposal budgeted for a roughly 4 percent wage increase for county employees regardless of bargaining unit status. The same increase applied to the salaries for most elected officials, although the sheriff saw a slightly higher annual increase.

The approved budget further included $603,922 in approved “offers” — the county’s term for a process where departments can apply for new staff or initiatives that would be supported by general fund dollars.

Operational costs will otherwise remain mostly unchanged going into fiscal year 2026, Bearrows said, aside from justifiable increases for contracts and material costs.

The revenue budget is $169.7 million — a bump of 7.6 percent annually due to increases in investment earnings, as well as in treasurer’s fees, permits and local-option sales tax. That local-option sales tax allocation supports $3.8 million for road construction and $1.9 million each for conservation projects and property tax relief for rural residents.

Of that revenue, property taxes levied totals $86.6 million — an increase of 3.9 percent from fiscal 2025.

Under the approved budget, the ending fund balance in Linn County’s general fund remains at 25 percent of general fund expenditures as required for cash flow purposes, emergencies and to maintain the county’s AAA bond rating.

“We work hard every year to keep the levy rate as low as possible and to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars,” said Supervisor Kirsten Running-Marquardt. “We are proud that this year the levy rate actually decreased and that we are still able to provide important services for the people of Linn County.”

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Linn County government taxes make up approximately 16 percent of the overall property tax bill for residents living in one of Linn County’s cities and roughly 33 percent for rural residents. The remainder is collected by other taxing entities.

To see the exact dollar amount and percentage of property taxes going to each taxing jurisdiction, property owners can visit Linn County’s property tax collection and distribution website and enter their address in the online search tool.

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