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Local taxes › Buchanan County › Fairbank

City

Fairbank

Buchanan County · How cities work

$2,600 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($30.87 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$760 a yearof that goes to the city ($9.00 per $1,000)
$410,935property taxes the city levies, FY27
$963,002city budget, FY27, without city-run utilities (not yet reported)2

Who runs it

The city council passes ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the city’s property tax.

  • Jason KayserFairbank Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • Michael GruetzmacherFairbank City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Tamara S. EricksonFairbank City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Tyler WoodsFairbank City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Andrew J. WilliamsFairbank City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Ronald WoodsFairbank City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023

Officials are worked out from election results: every member whose four-year term is still running, plus appointments and titles Iowa Funnel has been told about. A resignation may not show yet.

Meetings and agendas

What the council is deciding: each agenda, the resolutions and ordinances on it, and a plain-language summary.

Iowa Funnel doesn’t read this city’s agendas yet. Every council and board posts its agenda at least 24 hours before it meets.

Property taxes

How the bill is collected · What each levy is for

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Fairbank

Homes and businesses in most of Fairbank pay a combined $32.99 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Buchanan County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $9.00. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

Per $1,000 of taxable value: the typical combined rate people in Fairbank pay, and the city government’s own piece of it.

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$33.81$10.73
FY21$32.99$9.97
FY22$32.66$9.73
FY23$31.37$9.15
FY24$31.96$9.15
FY25$31.82$9.00
FY26$28.80$9.00
FY27$29.31$9.00
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$33.81$10.73
FY21$32.99$9.97
FY22$32.66$9.73
FY23$31.37$9.15
FY24$31.96$9.15
FY25$31.82$9.00
FY26$28.80$9.00
FY27$29.31$9.00

Compared with places this size3

Fairbank’s city property tax rate of $9.00 per $1,000 is the 16th lowest of 156 Iowa cities with 760–1,700 people. The middle of the group is $13.36.

Elkader: $27.11Exira: $24.81Laurens: $24.16Dayton: $22.51Correctionville: $19.84Villisca: $19.74Traer: $19.56Corning: $19.36Lake City: $19.32Allison: $19.06Corydon: $18.22Dysart: $17.95Greene: $17.91Lansing: $17.67Strawberry Point: $17.58Rockwell: $17.54Gowrie: $17.17Colo: $17.14Mapleton: $16.90George: $16.89Manson: $16.87Fayette: $16.85Adair: $16.84Eddyville: $16.82Nashua: $16.81Ackley: $16.63Buffalo Center: $16.58Roland: $16.51Eldon: $16.42Monona: $16.41Aplington: $16.34Panora: $16.14Mechanicsville: $16.12Dike: $15.94Armstrong: $15.87Holstein: $15.81State Center: $15.80Pleasantville: $15.80Earlham: $15.55Shell Rock: $15.52Brooklyn: $15.49Newell: $15.49Mount Ayr: $15.32Riceville: $15.31Neola: $15.30Sidney: $15.19Gilbertville: $15.15Logan: $15.05Griswold: $15.01Readlyn: $14.99Tripoli: $14.99Bedford: $14.66Lenox: $14.65Manning: $14.62Dunlap: $14.56Maxwell: $14.50Coon Rapids: $14.49Nora Springs: $14.25Kingsley: $14.25Urbana: $14.20Primghar: $14.18Sheffield: $14.16Hartley: $14.11Woodward: $14.05Guthrie Center: $14.04Ossian: $13.88Alton: $13.87Montezuma: $13.79Victor: $13.72Gilbert: $13.71Edgewood: $13.64Donnellson: $13.63Gladbrook: $13.58Clarksville: $13.53Avoca: $13.51Janesville: $13.43Glidden: $13.43Calmar: $13.39Baxter: $13.32Manly: $13.29Anita: $13.28Van Horne: $13.27Conrad: $13.23Springville: $13.22Keota: $13.21Shellsburg: $13.20De Soto: $13.18Treynor: $13.03Odebolt: $13.00Akron: $12.93Danville: $12.87Underwood: $12.85New Sharon: $12.80Slater: $12.79Malvern: $12.79Buffalo: $12.68Sanborn: $12.62West Point: $12.39Hinton: $12.38Preston: $12.38Remsen: $12.32Hubbard: $12.30Carson: $12.22Wheatland: $12.18Reinbeck: $12.10Winfield: $12.04Elkhart: $12.00Afton: $11.96Lowden: $11.93Tabor: $11.88Wellman: $11.88Aurelia: $11.84Palo: $11.49West Bend: $11.42Dakota City: $11.39Marcus: $11.31Dunkerton: $11.30Mediapolis: $11.27Melcher-Dallas: $11.21University Heights: $11.12Manilla: $11.01Hamburg: $10.95Clarence: $10.94Oakland: $10.85Cambridge: $10.53Swisher: $10.39Schleswig: $10.39Melbourne: $10.38Elk Run Heights: $10.33Walcott: $10.29Fredericksburg: $10.27Lake Park: $10.25Inwood: $10.22Milo: $10.20Central City: $10.01Newhall: $9.99Graettinger: $9.81Long Grove: $9.59Lake View: $9.39Paullina: $9.21Winthrop: $8.94Walford: $8.72Keosauqua: $8.58Princeton: $8.24Lone Tree: $8.13Riverside: $8.02Hills: $7.94Larchwood: $7.52North English: $7.49Sloan: $7.49Sully: $7.41Fruitland: $7.21Lawton: $7.10Wayland: $7.07Arnolds Park: $4.95Fairbank: $9.00$4.95 lowest$27.11 highestmiddle
See all 156
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Elkader$27.111,192
2Exira$24.81766
3Laurens$24.161,253
4Dayton$22.51766
5Correctionville$19.84759
6Villisca$19.741,106
7Traer$19.561,547
8Corning$19.361,509
9Lake City$19.321,656
10Allison$19.06937
11Corydon$18.221,563
12Dysart$17.951,266
13Greene$17.91971
14Lansing$17.67959
15Strawberry Point$17.581,141
16Rockwell$17.541,044
17Gowrie$17.17943
18Colo$17.14856
19Mapleton$16.901,114
20George$16.891,106
21Manson$16.871,646
22Fayette$16.851,193
23Adair$16.84792
24Eddyville$16.82965
25Nashua$16.811,515
26Ackley$16.631,538
27Buffalo Center$16.58839
28Roland$16.511,376
29Eldon$16.42788
30Monona$16.411,462
31Aplington$16.341,088
32Panora$16.141,096
33Mechanicsville$16.12974
34Dike$15.941,293
35Armstrong$15.87847
36Holstein$15.811,475
37State Center$15.801,403
38Pleasantville$15.801,696
39Earlham$15.551,411
40Shell Rock$15.521,265
41Brooklyn$15.491,474
42Newell$15.49850
43Mount Ayr$15.321,616
44Riceville$15.31807
45Neola$15.30917
46Sidney$15.191,048
47Gilbertville$15.15792
48Logan$15.051,351
49Griswold$15.01975
50Readlyn$14.99857
51Tripoli$14.991,208
52Bedford$14.661,474
53Lenox$14.651,355
54Manning$14.621,390
55Dunlap$14.561,030
56Maxwell$14.50862
57Coon Rapids$14.491,258
58Nora Springs$14.251,330
59Kingsley$14.251,394
60Urbana$14.201,635
61Primghar$14.18893
62Sheffield$14.161,123
63Hartley$14.111,584
64Woodward$14.051,383
65Guthrie Center$14.041,579
66Ossian$13.88777
67Alton$13.871,248
68Montezuma$13.791,421
69Victor$13.72852
70Gilbert$13.711,397
71Edgewood$13.64908
72Donnellson$13.63859
73Gladbrook$13.58775
74Clarksville$13.531,238
75Avoca$13.511,685
76Janesville$13.431,052
77Glidden$13.431,140
78Calmar$13.391,100
79Baxter$13.32983
80Manly$13.291,233
81Anita$13.28953
82Van Horne$13.27768
83Conrad$13.231,098
84Springville$13.221,161
85Keota$13.21888
86Shellsburg$13.20987
87De Soto$13.18937
88Treynor$13.031,104
89Odebolt$13.00967
90Akron$12.931,545
91Danville$12.87910
92Underwood$12.85973
93New Sharon$12.801,249
94Slater$12.791,626
95Malvern$12.791,056
96Buffalo$12.681,163
97Sanborn$12.621,463
98West Point$12.39903
99Hinton$12.38959
100Preston$12.38940
101Remsen$12.321,681
102Hubbard$12.30837
103Carson$12.22772
104Wheatland$12.18765
105Reinbeck$12.101,673
106Winfield$12.041,006
107Elkhart$12.001,079
108Afton$11.96864
109Lowden$11.93767
110Tabor$11.88983
111Wellman$11.881,531
112Aurelia$11.84970
113Palo$11.491,554
114West Bend$11.42770
115Dakota City$11.39764
116Marcus$11.311,069
117Dunkerton$11.30840
118Mediapolis$11.271,679
119Melcher-Dallas$11.211,193
120University Heights$11.121,188
121Manilla$11.01756
122Hamburg$10.95863
123Clarence$10.94991
124Oakland$10.851,519
125Cambridge$10.53844
126Swisher$10.39909
127Schleswig$10.39820
128Melbourne$10.38771
129Elk Run Heights$10.331,061
130Walcott$10.291,556
131Fredericksburg$10.27983
132Lake Park$10.251,155
133Inwood$10.22962
134Milo$10.20762
135Central City$10.011,254
136Newhall$9.99887
137Graettinger$9.81810
138Long Grove$9.59849
139Lake View$9.391,120
140Paullina$9.21979
141Fairbank$9.001,133
142Winthrop$8.94814
143Walford$8.721,357
144Keosauqua$8.58944
145Princeton$8.24917
146Lone Tree$8.131,341
147Riverside$8.021,063
148Hills$7.94911
149Larchwood$7.52954
150North English$7.491,030
151Sloan$7.491,078
152Sully$7.41891
153Fruitland$7.21928
154Lawton$7.10949
155Wayland$7.07935
156Arnolds Park$4.951,214

The $8.10 limit

Fairbank’s general levy is $7.56 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.54 below the limit.4 782 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $7.86 · FY26 $7.79 · FY27 $7.56 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $1.44 more5

  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$0.98 · $44,700
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$0.42 · $19,044
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$0.04 · $1,945

Tax increment financing (TIF)

$3.4M of taxable value in Fairbank is in TIF districts’ increment (7% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.6 It budgeted $100,000 in TIF revenue for FY25.

$249,249
$12,743

What that value would raise at each government’s rate, FY277

Taxes on TIF value go to the city’s TIF fund instead of the governments that levy them, including about $30,980 of the city’s own.

  • Wapsie Valley schools$35,874
  • Buchanan County$14,751
  • Fayette County$5,412
YearTIF revenue
FY16$249,249
FY17$165,927
FY18$223,461
FY19$150,365
FY20$31,668
FY21$49,940
FY22$48,454
FY23$12,743
Show the numbers
YearTIF revenue
FY16$249,249
FY17$165,927
FY18$223,461
FY19$150,365
FY20$31,668
FY21$49,940
FY22$48,454
FY23$12,743

The city’s levies, FY27

What the city raises from each levy. The general levy is capped by state law; the others are set aside for one purpose.

  • Consolidate General Fund$344,70784%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$44,70011%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$19,0445%
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$1,9450%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Fairbank’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 44¢ of every dollar44¢Capital Projects: 40¢ of every dollar40¢Culture and Recreation: 5¢ of every dollarPublic Safety: 4¢ of every dollarPublic Works: 3¢ of every dollarEverything else: 3¢ of every dollar

Planned spending from all funds, including city-run utilities like water and sewer (“business type”), which some cities run and others don’t. Transfers between funds are left out. “Cities this size” is the average for the 155 Iowa cities closest in size (760–1,700 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (155)
Business Type / Enterprise44¢41¢
Capital Projects40¢10¢
Culture and Recreation5¢9¢
Public Safety4¢9¢
Public Works3¢14¢
Everything else3¢17¢

Planned spending, FY27

All funds: property taxes, utility and other fees, state and federal money. “Business type” is city-run utilities and enterprises like water or sewer.

  • Culture and Recreation$311,20332%
  • Public Safety$260,08427%
  • Public Works$161,56017%
  • Debt Service$135,60014%
  • General Government$93,73010%
  • Community and Economic Development$8250%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($2.5M in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$127,700$136,395
Public Safety$232,595$193,757
Health and Social Services$1,575$1,075
General Government$80,788$73,070
Debt Service$54,840$0
Culture and Recreation$377,411$274,096
Community and Economic Development$760$65
Capital Projects$1.1M$225,952
Business Type / Enterprise$2.2M$2.3M

What it spent each year

FY24 left out8

$4.4M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Fairbank owes

$3.2M at June 30, 2026: $2,912 per resident. 292nd most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).9

$4.3M
$3.2M
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$3.2M$2,912
2025$2.5M$2,230
2024$2.7M$2,446
2023$3.0M$2,659
2022$3.2M$2,887
2021$3.2M$2,909
2020$3.5M$3,139
2019$3.7M$3,303
2018$4.0M$3,595
2017$4.3M$3,869
2016$4.3M$3,830
2015$515,662$464
2014$287,030$258
2013$446,380$402
2012$590,000$531
2011$747,500$673
2010$547,287$493
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$3.2M$2,912
2025$2.5M$2,230
2024$2.7M$2,446
2023$3.0M$2,659
2022$3.2M$2,887
2021$3.2M$2,909
2020$3.5M$3,139
2019$3.7M$3,303
2018$4.0M$3,595
2017$4.3M$3,869
2016$4.3M$3,830
2015$515,662$464
2014$287,030$258
2013$446,380$402
2012$590,000$531
2011$747,500$673
2010$547,287$493

Up 491% since 2010.

Money in reserve

The state’s budget files don’t include cities’ fund balances10. Fairbank’s latest audit has them: Annual Examination, period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF).

Audits11

The latest: Annual Examination for the period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF), released Wednesday, December 31, 2025, by a CPA firm.

9 earlier reports for Fairbank

State money

What the State of Iowa pays the city each year, and whether it has kept up with prices. Does state money keep pace? 12

What the state pays the city every year

Road Use Tax for streets, the commercial and industrial tax “backfill”, and ambulance reimbursement, paid every year by formula: $174,682 in FY25, up 17% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 6% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$153,627$152,886$156,932$157,783
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)$699$3,924$15,653$16,899

Grants and project money

State grants and money for specific projects (roads, development, natural resources) vary with what the city applies for and wins, so they aren’t counted as the state’s regular support.

$106,102
  • State grants$102,00496%
  • Iowa DOT projects$4,0984%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$8,074
FY20$12,679
FY21$7,502
FY22$9,929
FY23$6,362
FY24$5,835
FY25$106,102
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$8,074
FY20$12,679
FY21$7,502
FY22$9,929
FY23$6,362
FY24$5,835
FY25$106,102

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−13%$143,784 → $157,783, up 10% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 13% less
  • Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)+166%$5,070 → $16,899, up 233% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 166% more

Collected by the state for the city

The local option sales tax is a city tax voters approved; the state collects it with the state sales tax and sends it back. It isn’t state aid. It’s up 44% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 14% more.

$136,927
$134,396

Federal grants, for comparison: $3,650 in FY25.

Business awards

Every award statewide

Elections

Running for mayor and city council

Filing opens Monday, August 23, 2027: in 285 days.

For the Tuesday, November 2, 2027 election, candidates file Monday, August 23, 2027 to Thursday, September 16, 2027 with the county auditor (or the city clerk, if the auditor names the clerk to take them)13.

In a city that can hold a primary, filing runs Monday, August 9, 2027 to Thursday, August 26, 2027.

Most recent: November 4, 2025

City · 2

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Fairbank; official results are on each county auditor’s site.

Who has filed for Tuesday, November 2, 2027

Filing hasn’t opened. These seats are expected on the ballot.

  • Fairbank City Council At-Large (2 seats)
    Now held by Ronald Woods, Andrew J. Williams
  • Fairbank Mayor
    Now held by Jason Kayser

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here14.

Past ballot measures

None found since 2022.

When a measure can be on the ballot

  • Tuesday, March 2, 2027 · no bond or debt questions
  • Tuesday, September 14, 2027 · no bond or debt questions
  • Tuesday, November 2, 2027 · any question, including bonds
  • Tuesday, March 7, 2028 · no bond or debt questions

Bonds and other borrowing can only go on the November ballot15.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress16

Dan Zumbach (Sen. 34)Chad Ingels (Rep. 68)

U.S. House:District 2

Buchanan CountyWapsie Valley schools