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Local taxes › Cedar County › Stanwood

City

Stanwood

Cedar County · How cities work

$3,110 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($36.95 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$1,270 a yearof that goes to the city ($15.12 per $1,000)
$326,481property taxes the city levies, FY27
$1.1Mcity 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.

  • David E SiebelsStanwood City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Nick GanoeStanwood City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Terri KnappStanwood City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Ryan DeppeStanwood City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Stephanie RottmanStanwood City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Todd A. SawyerStanwood Mayor · 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 Stanwood

Homes and businesses in most of Stanwood pay a combined $36.95 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Cedar County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $15.12. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$31.57$10.20
FY21$31.41$10.67
FY22$34.09$12.89
FY23$34.51$13.31
FY24$35.29$13.97
FY25$35.38$13.63
FY26$35.93$14.23
FY27$36.95$15.12
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$31.57$10.20
FY21$31.41$10.67
FY22$34.09$12.89
FY23$34.51$13.31
FY24$35.29$13.97
FY25$35.38$13.63
FY26$35.93$14.23
FY27$36.95$15.12

Compared with places this size3

Stanwood’s city property tax rate of $15.12 per $1,000 is the 44th highest of 181 Iowa cities with 410–920 people. The middle of the group is $12.88.

Exira: $24.81Rolfe: $22.67Dayton: $22.51Charter Oak: $21.32Oxford Junction: $20.84Correctionville: $19.84Pomeroy: $19.60Dumont: $19.04Seymour: $18.78Dexter: $18.69Fonda: $18.52Kanawha: $18.11Swea City: $18.04Alden: $17.90Elma: $17.82Dows: $17.70New Hartford: $17.69Walnut: $17.46Murray: $17.44Thompson: $17.25Ashton: $17.17Colo: $17.14Latimer: $16.96Adair: $16.84Elk Horn: $16.78Oxford: $16.70Buffalo Center: $16.58Whittemore: $16.54Bancroft: $16.52Titonka: $16.45Eldon: $16.42Early: $16.35Truro: $16.34Scranton: $16.01Armstrong: $15.87Ruthven: $15.84Minden: $15.77Walker: $15.74Newell: $15.49Riceville: $15.31Neola: $15.30Russell: $15.18Gilbertville: $15.15Stratford: $15.03Zearing: $14.99Readlyn: $14.99Arlington: $14.98Maynard: $14.85Otho: $14.82Wyoming: $14.81Humeston: $14.80Hopkinton: $14.79Essex: $14.76Gilmore City: $14.60Garnavillo: $14.52Maxwell: $14.50Sabula: $14.38Collins: $14.32Clermont: $14.30Moulton: $14.25Ocheyedan: $14.22Mcgregor: $14.20Olin: $14.19Primghar: $14.18Garwin: $14.08Farragut: $14.07Elgin: $14.05Lime Springs: $13.95Dow City: $13.94Ossian: $13.88Redfield: $13.73Victor: $13.72Edgewood: $13.64Sioux Rapids: $13.63Donnellson: $13.63Albion: $13.58Gladbrook: $13.58Lamont: $13.57New Albin: $13.55Rockford: $13.52Boyden: $13.39Van Horne: $13.27Keota: $13.21Quasqueton: $13.12Farmington: $13.10Anthon: $13.05Little Rock: $13.03Coggon: $12.99Earlville: $12.90Brighton: $12.88Danville: $12.87Montrose: $12.78Goldfield: $12.73Wellsburg: $12.68Delmar: $12.68Galva: $12.68Badger: $12.67Martensdale: $12.63Stanton: $12.62Hospers: $12.58Norway: $12.53Everly: $12.51Hazleton: $12.48West Point: $12.39Alburnett: $12.30Hubbard: $12.30Moravia: $12.27Hedrick: $12.22Carson: $12.22Wheatland: $12.18Schaller: $12.14Hawkeye: $12.11Afton: $11.96Lowden: $11.93Albert City: $11.88Runnells: $11.79Allerton: $11.72Merrill: $11.64Ellsworth: $11.57Morning Sun: $11.50Battle Creek: $11.49Wall Lake: $11.43West Bend: $11.42Dakota City: $11.39Dunkerton: $11.30Sutherland: $11.25Arcadia: $11.23Whiting: $11.21Shelby: $11.17Blairstown: $11.04Manilla: $11.01Hamburg: $10.95Ireton: $10.93Fontanelle: $10.88Richland: $10.82Grand Mound: $10.78Batavia: $10.77Cambridge: $10.53Lovilia: $10.46Swisher: $10.39Schleswig: $10.39Melbourne: $10.38Radcliffe: $10.37Stacyville: $10.36Ventura: $10.22Milo: $10.20Hartford: $10.16What Cheer: $10.01Newhall: $9.99Cumming: $9.85Graettinger: $9.81Breda: $9.80Doon: $9.78Long Grove: $9.59Alleman: $9.12Winthrop: $8.94Crescent: $8.72Ainsworth: $8.62Grand Junction: $8.57Princeton: $8.24Gilman: $8.10Grandview: $8.10Kellogg: $8.10Lakeside: $8.10Lost Nation: $8.10Agency: $7.94Hills: $7.94Fremont: $7.86Delhi: $7.81Klemme: $7.74Beacon: $7.56Sully: $7.41Marquette: $7.08Raymond: $6.85Keystone: $6.80Shueyville: $6.79New Virginia: $5.97University Park: $5.27Orleans: $4.13Okoboji: $3.83Stanwood: $15.12$3.83 lowest$24.81 highestmiddle
See all 181
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Exira$24.81766
2Rolfe$22.67505
3Dayton$22.51766
4Charter Oak$21.32521
5Oxford Junction$20.84424
6Correctionville$19.84759
7Pomeroy$19.60511
8Dumont$19.04614
9Seymour$18.78646
10Dexter$18.69631
11Fonda$18.52636
12Kanawha$18.11638
13Swea City$18.04545
14Alden$17.90738
15Elma$17.82493
16Dows$17.70509
17New Hartford$17.69555
18Walnut$17.46728
19Murray$17.44609
20Thompson$17.25478
21Ashton$17.17434
22Colo$17.14856
23Latimer$16.96477
24Adair$16.84792
25Elk Horn$16.78631
26Oxford$16.70715
27Buffalo Center$16.58839
28Whittemore$16.54478
29Bancroft$16.52677
30Titonka$16.45491
31Eldon$16.42788
32Early$16.35571
33Truro$16.34515
34Scranton$16.01496
35Armstrong$15.87847
36Ruthven$15.84710
37Minden$15.77581
38Walker$15.74671
39Newell$15.49850
40Riceville$15.31807
41Neola$15.30917
42Russell$15.18475
43Gilbertville$15.15792
44Stanwood$15.12612
45Stratford$15.03688
46Zearing$14.99508
47Readlyn$14.99857
48Arlington$14.98415
49Maynard$14.85466
50Otho$14.82417
51Wyoming$14.81526
52Humeston$14.80472
53Hopkinton$14.79622
54Essex$14.76721
55Gilmore City$14.60484
56Garnavillo$14.52751
57Maxwell$14.50862
58Sabula$14.38498
59Collins$14.32503
60Clermont$14.30571
61Moulton$14.25596
62Ocheyedan$14.22424
63Mcgregor$14.20725
64Olin$14.19652
65Primghar$14.18893
66Garwin$14.08469
67Farragut$14.07480
68Elgin$14.05676
69Lime Springs$13.95467
70Dow City$13.94477
71Ossian$13.88777
72Redfield$13.73719
73Victor$13.72852
74Edgewood$13.64908
75Sioux Rapids$13.63722
76Donnellson$13.63859
77Albion$13.58444
78Gladbrook$13.58775
79Lamont$13.57429
80New Albin$13.55435
81Rockford$13.52722
82Boyden$13.39694
83Van Horne$13.27768
84Keota$13.21888
85Quasqueton$13.12587
86Farmington$13.10583
87Anthon$13.05534
88Little Rock$13.03447
89Coggon$12.99691
90Earlville$12.90713
91Brighton$12.88592
92Danville$12.87910
93Montrose$12.78734
94Goldfield$12.73617
95Wellsburg$12.68709
96Delmar$12.68541
97Galva$12.68416
98Badger$12.67540
99Martensdale$12.63413
100Stanton$12.62664
101Hospers$12.58703
102Norway$12.53463
103Everly$12.51570
104Hazleton$12.48711
105West Point$12.39903
106Alburnett$12.30672
107Hubbard$12.30837
108Moravia$12.27625
109Hedrick$12.22717
110Carson$12.22772
111Wheatland$12.18765
112Schaller$12.14702
113Hawkeye$12.11429
114Afton$11.96864
115Lowden$11.93767
116Albert City$11.88627
117Runnells$11.79467
118Allerton$11.72432
119Merrill$11.64713
120Ellsworth$11.57495
121Morning Sun$11.50702
122Battle Creek$11.49683
123Wall Lake$11.43739
124West Bend$11.42770
125Dakota City$11.39764
126Dunkerton$11.30840
127Sutherland$11.25628
128Arcadia$11.23588
129Whiting$11.21725
130Shelby$11.17730
131Blairstown$11.04705
132Manilla$11.01756
133Hamburg$10.95863
134Ireton$10.93571
135Fontanelle$10.88684
136Richland$10.82532
137Grand Mound$10.78608
138Batavia$10.77434
139Cambridge$10.53844
140Lovilia$10.46456
141Swisher$10.39909
142Schleswig$10.39820
143Melbourne$10.38771
144Radcliffe$10.37540
145Stacyville$10.36436
146Ventura$10.22701
147Milo$10.20762
148Hartford$10.16729
149What Cheer$10.01595
150Newhall$9.99887
151Cumming$9.85527
152Graettinger$9.81810
153Breda$9.80492
154Doon$9.78640
155Long Grove$9.59849
156Alleman$9.12439
157Winthrop$8.94814
158Crescent$8.72626
159Ainsworth$8.62511
160Grand Junction$8.57715
161Princeton$8.24917
162Gilman$8.10530
163Grandview$8.10431
164Kellogg$8.10597
165Lakeside$8.10695
166Lost Nation$8.10425
167Agency$7.94623
168Hills$7.94911
169Fremont$7.86688
170Delhi$7.81438
171Klemme$7.74429
172Beacon$7.56434
173Sully$7.41891
174Marquette$7.08434
175Raymond$6.85754
176Keystone$6.80616
177Shueyville$6.79725
178New Virginia$5.97499
179University Park$5.27476
180Orleans$4.13503
181Okoboji$3.83729

The $8.10 limit

Stanwood’s general levy is $8.10 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, at the limit.4 247 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

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

Outside the limit: $7.02 more5

  • Debt Service Levy$3.38 · $72,811
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$2.50 · $53,697
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$0.96 · $20,576
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$0.19 · $4,079

Tax increment financing (TIF)

Stanwood’s TIF revenue, from its reports to the state.

$32,316
$5,100
YearTIF revenue
FY16$32,316
FY17$31,541
FY18$20,379
FY19$5,100
Show the numbers
YearTIF revenue
FY16$32,316
FY17$31,541
FY18$20,379
FY19$5,100

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$174,32054%
  • Debt Service Levy$72,81122%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$53,69716%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$20,5766%
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$4,0791%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Stanwood’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 34¢ of every dollar34¢Culture and Recreation: 21¢ of every dollar21¢Public Works: 17¢ of every dollar17¢Public Safety: 17¢ of every dollar17¢General Government: 6¢ of every dollarEverything else: 6¢ 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 180 Iowa cities closest in size (410–920 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (180)
Business Type / Enterprise34¢40¢
Culture and Recreation21¢9¢
Public Works17¢17¢
Public Safety17¢10¢
General Government6¢12¢
Everything else6¢7¢

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$484,40145%
  • Public Works$210,31620%
  • Public Safety$203,17219%
  • General Government$93,6179%
  • Debt Service$73,9027%
  • Community and Economic Development$3,2730%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($470,460 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$200,196$206,243
Public Safety$175,449$178,482
Health and Social Services$0$0
General Government$72,108$284,179
Debt Service$263,040$50,770
Culture and Recreation$74,389$129,585
Community and Economic Development$5,960$3,567
Capital Projects$0$20,830
Business Type / Enterprise$400,997$381,518

What it spent each year

FY24 left out6

$4.2M
$1.6M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Stanwood owes

$2.7M at June 30, 2026: $4,204 per resident. 162nd most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).7

$3.7M
$2.7M
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$2.7M$4,204
2025$2.9M$4,521
2024$3.1M$4,830
2023$3.3M$5,142
2022$3.2M$5,091
2021$3.7M$5,790
2020$3.1M$4,883
2019$285,898$449
2018$309,132$485
2017$337,333$530
2016$274,000$430
2015$323,000$507
2014$371,000$582
2013$371,000$582
2012$401,000$630
2011$342,000$537
2010$333,464$523
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$2.7M$4,204
2025$2.9M$4,521
2024$3.1M$4,830
2023$3.3M$5,142
2022$3.2M$5,091
2021$3.7M$5,790
2020$3.1M$4,883
2019$285,898$449
2018$309,132$485
2017$337,333$530
2016$274,000$430
2015$323,000$507
2014$371,000$582
2013$371,000$582
2012$401,000$630
2011$342,000$537
2010$333,464$523

Up 703% since 2010.

The 5% limit8

General obligation debt is $819,351, 37% of the limit of about $2.2M (5% of $44.3M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

7 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
Revenue BondsWaste Water Treatment Facility Upgrades2039$1.8M
General ObligationPreston Street sewer2040$457,351
General ObligationHwy 38 sewer2039$187,000
General ObligationStorm water/Hwy 38 project2039$175,000
LoansPark Shelter loan2031$35,582
Revenue BondsPump House2029$30,000
Revenue BondsWell # 3 improvements2028$29,000

General obligation bonds are repaid from property taxes; revenue bonds and loans from the fees or revenue they’re tied to. On the Treasurer’s site

Money in reserve

The state’s budget files don’t include cities’ fund balances9. Stanwood’s latest audit has them: Annual Examination, period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF).

Audits10

The latest: Annual Examination for the period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF), released Friday, December 19, 2025, by a CPA firm.

4 earlier reports for Stanwood

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? 11

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: $90,466 in FY25, up 2% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 18% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$89,227$102,658$89,978$90,466

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.

$2.4M
$131
  • State grants$131100%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$0
FY20$2.4M
FY21$0
FY22$0
FY23$49,193
FY24$0
FY25$131
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$0
FY20$2.4M
FY21$0
FY22$0
FY23$49,193
FY24$0
FY25$131

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−18%$88,363 → $90,466, up 2% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 18% less

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 33% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 6% more.

$81,373
$78,098

Federal grants, for comparison: $134,375 in FY23.

Business awards

Every award statewide

Elections

Running for mayor and city council

Filing opens Monday, August 23, 2027: in 284 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)12.

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 · 1

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Stanwood; 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.

  • Stanwood City Council At-Large (2 seats)
    Now held by Ryan Deppe, Stephanie Rottman
  • Stanwood Mayor
    Now held by Todd A. Sawyer

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here13.

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 ballot14.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress15

Kerry Gruenhagen (Sen. 41)Bobby Kaufmann (Rep. 82)

U.S. House:District 1

Cedar CountyNorth Cedar schools