Property Tax Statement
View the Iowa Department of Management webpage on the property tax statement’s here.
For a section-by-section overview of the mailing, please access the mailing explanation document.
A tool to calculate the property tax impact for a specific property valuation can be downloaded here.
Iowa Code Chapter 24.2 requires cities, counties and school districts to provide a proposed property tax statement to the county auditor no later than March 15 each year for property taxes payable in the subsequent tax year. Information contained on the property tax statement includes:
- The current year’s property tax dollars levied
- Next year’s effective property tax dollars after property valuation changes
- Next year’s proposed property tax levy dollars
If the proposed property tax levy dollars exceed next year’s effective property tax dollars, an explanation is required. This explanation can be found in the bottom section of the statement.
Property tax statements also include a comparison of the current and proposed property tax amount for a $100,000 residential property and a $100,000 commercial property. Please be reminded that there are a few factors influencing a taxpayer’s total property tax bill which include:
- Assessed valuation
- Residential or commercial rollback applied
- Tax Rate
While the residential rollback has decreased, meaning taxpayers will pay taxes on a smaller portion of their assessed valuation, many properties likely realized significant increases in their assessed valuations for tax year 2024-25.
Property tax statements will be mailed to each taxpayer on or around March 20. A public hearing regarding the property tax statements is required to be held anytime after March 25. The hearing date, time, and location is included on the property tax statement along with the location where the statement can be accessed on the district website. The public hearing for Ankeny Community School District’s proposed fiscal year 2024-25 property tax statement is scheduled for Monday, April 1, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in the boardroom of the district administrative offices located at 406 SW School Street, Ankeny, Iowa.
Ankeny Community School District Property Tax Levy Information
School district funding is student-driven and based on the State Foundation Aid formula. Each year, the state legislature applies an adjustment to the state cost per pupil, known as State Supplemental Aid (SSA). District enrollment times the state cost per pupil determines the level of funding schools receive through the State Foundation Aid formula. The State Foundation Aid formula is funded through a mixture of property tax dollars and state aid. The mixture varies for each district depending upon its taxable valuation. As a district’s taxable valuation increases, the percentage of State Foundation Aid funded by property taxes typically increases as well. Therefore, a district’s General Fund property tax dollars may increase due to the State Foundation Aid formula.
In addition to the General Fund, the total levy rate includes the Management Fund levy for property and casualty, workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance; the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) used in purchasing equipment and repairing facilities and grounds, and the Debt Service Levy which funds the district’s general obligation principal and interest payments.
While both the PPEL and Debt Service levies are proposed to remain stable at their current rate, the increase in taxable valuation results in increased property tax dollars. The increased PPEL dollars will be used to purchase student devices, improve the district’s athletic facilities, and make scheduled repairs across the district. The Debt Service levy will be used to pay down principal on existing debt, resulting in significant savings of interest and earlier payoffs of existing debt.