Linn County Board of Supervisors approves preliminary FY15 levy rate

The following is a news release from the county of Linn:

The Linn County Board of Supervisors Friday voted 4 to 1 to approve a preliminary levy rate of $6.14 per $1,000 of taxable value for fiscal year 2015. Supervisor John Harris voted against the levy rate. The levy rate and the FY15 budget will be final when the budget is certified on March 11.

The preliminary levy rate is an increase of three cents from the current rate of $6.11; however, it follows three years of no increases in the county's levy rate and is a penny lower than Linn County's FY09 levy rate of $6.15 one year after the 2008 flood, which was cut 19 cents the following year.

The Board of Supervisors also approved the preliminary rural services levy rate of $2.78, which is 93 cents below last year's levy rate. The rural services levy, which is in addition to the countywide levy rate, is for residents who live in unincorporated Linn County. The decrease is a result of the Board of Supervisors' vote to include ballot language that provided 25 percent of the Local Option Sales Tax from unincorporated Linn County to go toward property tax relief for rural residents beginning July 1, 2014. This property tax relief is estimated to be about $1.3 million per year for rural residents.

"There were external factors impacting our budget this year, including limited taxable valuation growth due to an 18 percent increase in TIF [tax increment financing] loss," said Linn County Supervisor Chairwoman Lu Barron. "Our budget decisions were about balancing priorities of keeping the levy rate low while still funding some priorities to improve services and safety for residents. Our rural residents will see a significant reduction in the county portion of their tax bill while other county residents will see very little change in their overall county portion of their tax bill."

Linn County government accounts for approximately 16 percent of property taxes paid by Linn County property owners in incorporated areas. The remaining 84 percent of property taxes goes to the property tax payer's city of residence, school district and other taxing bodies in the county. Linn County taxes represent slightly more than one-third of property taxes for rural residents.

Some of the initiatives approved today by the Board of Supervisors for the FY15 budget include support for the Veteran Affairs office and a software upgrade for the Civil Division of the Sheriff's Office that will result in increased revenue for the county. Other initiatives include public safety and preparedness, including a reverse 9-1-1 notification system that can be used to notify the public in the event of an emergency, such as an evacuation or water quality issues (boil orders) and a Hazmat study to identify hazardous material transported in Linn County via truck, rail and pipeline and update the county's hazardous material incident response plan based on the study's findings.

"I appreciate the Board of Supervisors' willingness and foresight to enhance emergency management by supporting these public safety initiatives," said Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner, who is also chairperson of the Linn County Emergency Management Commission.

Linn County Supervisor John Harris noted he is supportive of many of the initiatives requested by county departments for next year's budget, but he voted nay because he is not supportive of an increase in the levy rate.
Linn County is one of only two counties in Iowa to have a Aaa bond rating from Moody's Investor Services. The Aaa rating is the highest possible and is based on Linn County's strong financial management, a diverse economic tax base, and a low debt burden.

Linn County's 2015 fiscal year is July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015.