Newton’s property tax levy hearing shows exemptions are not well-known

Similarly to the public hearings hosted by the county and the school district last week and the week before that, the residents of Newton had many questions about the confusing tax statements given to them in the mail, but interestingly enough the discussions also revealed many could be paying less taxes.

When informed about the tax exemption afforded to individuals ages 65 and older and those who served in the military, many residents seemed perplexed and some even scoffed at the idea. They had never heard of such a thing. And neither did many of the people who attended Jasper County’s tax levy hearing.

Newton City Administrator Matt Muckler looked up their tax exemption status in real time and determined they had not submitted the required paperwork, which is available at the Jasper County Assessor’s Office in the courthouse. Residents confirmed they had not filled out or turned in any kind of exemption form.

“I’m looking at your taxes right now, sir, and I don’t see you have the 65-and-older — you’re missing a credit,” Muckler said. “Your taxes did go down this year, but not as much as they could have had you had that tax (exemption). Your taxes went down $22 this year from last year. They could have gone down more.”

Some residents, Muckler added, are going to get their 65-and-older exemption and see their taxes go down, which is not uncommon for people who qualify. The city administrator strongly recommended residents go to the assessor’s office to fill out the forms for military and 65-and-older exemptions.

“That is something people should know,” Muckler said. “If you’re 65 and older, you qualify and it does have an impact. We’re seeing people with two decreases in their property taxes in a row. One of the components of House File 718 that I don’t think anyone at this dais is arguing against is the 65-and-older exemption.”

Residents still had questions about their tax dollars. Jerry Kelley wanted an explanation as to why the mailer shows the city taking in more property taxes — increasing from $9,474,181 to $9,766,749 — even though the overall tax levy remains relatively unchanged at $17.10 for FY26.

Scott Mulbrook said every time he turns around taxes are going up one way or the other. He questioned how the school district can tax people so high when it has declining enrollment. When it comes to the city, Mulbook accused the city of mismanaging its money, pointing to the $10,000 housing incentive as a waste.

Newton Finance Officer Lisa Frasier addressed Kelley’s concerns, saying the rollback was increased by 1.1 percent from the previous year and the city actually released some TIF revenues that allowed for property taxes in specific urban renewal areas to be higher.

“That’s going on to the tax rolls now. It’s not new taxes for anybody, it’s just where it is appropriated in the budget,” Frasier said, noting new valuations on new houses or businesses can also attribute to the additional property tax revenue for the city. “ … We’ll receive extra money off of any of those properties.”

Council member Randy Ervin said he has been trying to figure out the property tax system so that he may adequately answer any questions he may get from citizens. Ervin noted he met with Iowans For Tax Relief, a nonprofit that often lobbies for tax reforms in the Capitol, to learn more about the subject.

“In this meeting they brought up Newton and they brought up Jasper County, both of which — by their standards — are well under their expected target for taxation,” Ervin said, noting they were given a thumbs up. “I know that’s not easy for everyone in this room to accept, because everyone saw their taxes go up.”

Still, he encouraged residents to visit the Iowans For Tax Relief website to learn more. Ervin noted a reasonable tax growth for Newton, according to the state guidelines, is 35.4 percent. The FY26 budget brings the city’s tax growth to 34.5 percent, putting it just beneath the threshold set by state guidelines.

Ervin also stressed there are three parts to a tax: the levies, the assessments and the rollback. Inside city limits, residents are primarily taxed by the city and school district, and to a lesser extent the county and other entities. Ervin noted the city has not raised its levy in some time.

However, generally speaking, citizens can still see higher property taxes when the levies stay the same, and that is in large part due to the assessed values. Assessments have continually increased for the past six or seven years. But Ervin noted people are not taxed at 100 percent of their assessed value.

That is where the rollback kicks in. The residential rollback for FY26 is 47.43 percent, which means Iowans will only be taxed on 47.43 percent of their property’s assessed value. Ervin explained all of this to show there are many variables at play when it comes to property taxes.