DUNWELL: Truth in taxation remains No.1 priority in 2025 legislative session

Iowa State Rep. Jon Dunwell of House District 38 has long advocated for what he calls “truth in taxation,” and in this upcoming legislative session he intends to recite that mantra once again to so that Iowans have a clearer understanding about property tax adjustments from cities, counties and school districts.

Dunwell said all Iowans should receive mailers alongside their tax bills that show them exactly what they paid last year, the proposed levies for next year, the precise amount they will then pay for their property if the levies are approved by the respective taxing entities and the public hearing dates to dispute them.

“It puts the taxpayer and it puts the election official where they can actually have a conversation about their property taxes,” he said. “I think at that point it also allows the local entities, the county, the city and to lesser extent the schools … to have an interaction and say, ‘I want to pay higher taxes’ or ‘I don’t.’”

Property tax legislation in 2025 has already been teased by state leaders, and Dunwell confirmed the issue will most definitely be on the schedule. To him, it is something the state needs to get right for Iowans and for cities and counties and school districts. But he knows it is also a complicated subject.

Regardless, property tax is a concern Dunwell heard about often from his constituents, especially those with fixed incomes. They see their housing values increase and the rollback not adjust enough. He also said the process is not easy enough for people to understand what they will pay before budget hearings.

“It’s not necessarily the city’s or the county’s or the school’s fault, it’s just a matter of how our system works,” Dunwell said. “It’s not easy to take a look at that.”

Dunwell would also like to see the state “get out of the way” and allow citizens interact with their local elected officials that control what their taxes look like. Keeping them informed with transparent and property-specific mailers would help in that regard, he argued, but there in lies part of the issue.

Counties would likely have to invest in some kind of software. There is also an expense to mailing out tax statements to every taxpayer in the county. It could cost between $20,000 and $40,000 in mailing fees. But Dunwell said more counties might prefer this option rather than limiting growth or changing levies.

“I think sometimes the state has a hard time with it because they want to control it,” he said. “At that point, we’re getting ourselves out of the way. There will still be limits on how high you can do the levy, but the idea of it is the limitation is the voter not some artificial cap.”

Property taxes vary from region to region. Dunwell said a lot of communities have high growth because they’re building new homes, but systems in place now can be somewhat penalizing for cities experiencing that kind of progress. Dunwell wants to make sure every community can address tax issues with citizens.

Another issue Dunwell wants to prioritize this next session is supporting families. While current trends show inflation is decreasing, the lawmaker said others have been negatively affected by the economy. He wants to co-sponsor a bill that will increase the per pupil weighting for funding schools receive for preschool.

Currently, schools only receive half the funding (0.5) for each preschool-aged child, but they get the full amount (1.0) for students in kindergarten through high school. Dunwell said he wants to increase the funding to allow full-day preschool for parents at 185 percent of poverty. Ultimately, he said it saves the state money.

“We see the advances that happen to children in their third and eighth grade test scores. We see less difficulties that require interventions later,” Dunwell said. “We’re talking about hard working families that just need some assistance … This will allow them to get some of those educational advantages.”

Dunwell said there are benefits to having kids engaged in active education. Many are better prepared for kindergarten and have more successful educational years afterward. Communities with a diverse economic background may struggle to see those benefits. Dunwell said many just need assistance.

But there will be challenges in pursuing this kind of legislation.

“The pushback sometimes comes from the daycare industry a little bit because it affects their business,” Dunwell said. “So we’ve got to work out some of those kinks because we all have the same goal of trying to help out families, help out moms and dads to make sure they have what they need for their family.”

Dunwell worries about the pressures being placed on families and their children. There are things the Iowa Legislature can do, he said, to alleviate those burdens.

Dunwell also wants to take a closer look at the Iowa Department of Corrections. He wants to address hiccups in the system and the safety of correctional staff and those who live within the confines of their facilities. He also wants to make sure correctional officers are being well paid and are respected.

By not properly addressing the rights of the incarcerated individual, Dunwell said it makes the state’s prisons dangerous. When there are hiccups like mail issues that affect an incarcerated population over a period of time, they build up and affect the community of the prison and make it unsafe for everyone involved.

“Again, to me, it’s about correctional officer safety and recognizing those who live within those facilities are also going to be our neighbors at some point, so community connection with correctional facilities and community connection within the facility is extremely important,” Dunwell said.

To him, state corrections is an essential government service that needs to recognize and honor and fully support its staff.

Issues surrounding corrections have been brought to his attention by those who are incarcerated and the officers working from within prisons like Newton Correctional Facility. Dunwell said he looks at the issue from both ends. By not dealing with corrections, he fears it can become a time bomb.

“We don’t need to create frustration that’s unnecessary,” he said.

Creating a healthy community inside Iowa’s prisons means providing adequate safety for corrections officers and protecting incarcerated individuals, too. Dunwell said he wants corrections officers to be treated more like law enforcement and be included in that category.

Dunwell said it is also important for the community on the outside to engage with the community on the inside. It is extremely important, he added, and a healthy component that Iowa needs to figure out and get right. They are people, Dunwell said, and they will be rehabilitated back into society at some point.

“It’s about the incarcerated individual. It’s about the families. It’s about making sure we don’t have a problem in our correctional facilities,” Dunwell said. “But it also boils down to I’m worried about my corrections officers who are overworked and provide a tremendous service for our community.”