Local taxes › Chickasaw County › Alta Vista

City

Alta Vista

$3,300 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($39.21 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$1,670 a yearof that goes to the city ($19.88 per $1,000)

$83,570property taxes the city levies, FY27

$216,009city 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.

Adam RoethlerAlta Vista City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Burt OstertAlta Vista Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Daniel MahoneyAlta Vista City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Rick HeyingAlta Vista City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Amy LauresAlta Vista City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Kayla PrideAlta Vista 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 Alta Vista

Homes and businesses in most of Alta Vista pay a combined $39.21 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Chickasaw County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $19.88. Estimate your bill.

City of Alta Vista$19.8851%
New Hampton schools$12.3131%
Chickasaw County$5.1313%
Northeast Iowa Community College$1.043%
Chickasaw County Assessor$0.581%
Chickasaw County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.27<1%

Rates over time

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

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$32.95	$13.62
FY21	$32.06	$13.51
FY22	$31.88	$13.68
FY23	$31.53	$14.14
FY24	$34.39	$16.62
FY25	$38.65	$19.67
FY26	$39.69	$20.15
FY27	$39.21	$19.88

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$32.95	$13.62
FY21	$32.06	$13.51
FY22	$31.88	$13.68
FY23	$31.53	$14.14
FY24	$34.39	$16.62
FY25	$38.65	$19.67
FY26	$39.69	$20.15
FY27	$39.21	$19.88

Compared with places this size³

Alta Vista’s city property tax rate of $19.88 per $1,000 is the 8th highest of 195 Iowa cities with 150–330 people. The middle of the group is $11.48.

See all 195

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Fenton	$22.05	250
2	Soldier	$21.92	176
3	Coulter	$21.80	220
4	Chelsea	$21.61	207
5	Elliott	$21.61	328
6	Smithland	$21.12	184
7	Volga	$20.23	200
8	Alta Vista	$19.88	219
9	Arthur	$19.86	218
10	Coin	$19.59	171
11	Garden Grove	$19.20	173
12	Fort Atkinson	$19.19	300
13	Hastings	$18.95	157
14	Cumberland	$18.42	248
15	Jamaica	$18.24	196
16	Hillsboro	$17.68	158
17	Pisgah	$17.09	248
18	Lakota	$16.84	261
19	Marble Rock	$16.78	258
20	Auburn	$16.65	253
21	Prescott	$16.53	186
22	Irwin	$16.46	320
23	Montour	$16.37	199
24	Corwith	$16.22	259
25	Deep River	$16.18	243
26	Waucoma	$16.17	235
27	Granville	$16.00	302
28	Minburn	$15.75	317
29	Little Sioux	$15.74	170
30	Moorhead	$15.68	186
31	Onslow	$15.63	198
32	Linden	$15.62	206
33	Kamrar	$15.47	178
34	Peterson	$15.27	321
35	Greeley	$15.23	216
36	Riverton	$14.94	243
37	Marathon	$14.89	221
38	Ladora	$14.74	223
39	Magnolia	$14.68	194
40	Bagley	$14.63	230
41	Davis City	$14.45	178
42	Lucas	$14.40	176
43	Halbur	$14.37	268
44	Crystal Lake	$14.36	243
45	Kimballton	$14.27	281
46	Steamboat Rock	$14.19	261
47	Westgate	$14.05	190
48	Mystic	$14.01	318
49	Fertile	$13.70	300
50	Stockport	$13.68	272
51	Kellerton	$13.60	241
52	Quimby	$13.58	245
53	Meservey	$13.43	212
54	Persia	$13.41	292
55	Leland	$13.31	240
56	Ute	$13.26	326
57	Harcourt	$13.21	257
58	Ridgeway	$13.10	261
59	Farmersburg	$13.09	264
60	Portsmouth	$13.05	187
61	Clutier	$13.03	209
62	Silver City	$12.87	244
63	Patterson	$12.84	176
64	Martelle	$12.83	250
65	Malcom	$12.82	257
66	Blencoe	$12.57	223
67	Williams	$12.57	299
68	Maurice	$12.56	271
69	Clearfield	$12.50	277
70	Kensett	$12.47	256
71	Mccausland	$12.45	314
72	Aurora	$12.40	165
73	Modale	$12.34	284
74	Mingo	$12.31	314
75	Blakesburg	$12.21	273
76	Cushing	$12.18	225
77	Hanlontown	$12.17	200
78	Stout	$12.14	194
79	Macedonia	$12.12	266
80	Paton	$12.09	217
81	Decatur	$12.08	174
82	Kiron	$12.03	262
83	Rembrandt	$12.03	199
84	Shambaugh	$11.98	161
85	Liscomb	$11.96	292
86	New Providence	$11.88	233
87	Parnell	$11.78	190
88	Reasnor	$11.76	157
89	Joice	$11.72	206
90	Atalissa	$11.71	287
91	Cantril	$11.69	224
92	Kelley	$11.69	312
93	Wadena	$11.65	201
94	Exline	$11.60	157
95	Cincinnati	$11.57	280
96	Beaman	$11.54	155
97	Delta	$11.52	257
98	Terril	$11.48	310
99	Westside	$11.45	283
100	College Springs	$11.44	172
101	Holland	$11.37	261
102	Mallard	$11.28	255
103	Renwick	$11.16	228
104	Linn Grove	$11.15	155
105	Dundee	$11.14	193
106	Randolph	$11.08	183
107	Leighton	$11.07	153
108	Rake	$11.05	179
109	Frederika	$10.99	206
110	Alexander	$10.90	165
111	Goose Lake	$10.89	250
112	Yale	$10.85	265
113	Lambs Grove	$10.78	174
114	Wallingford	$10.75	154
115	Hornick	$10.74	255
116	Woden	$10.68	183
117	Bode	$10.64	304
118	Cleghorn	$10.49	235
119	Barnes City	$10.44	152
120	Danbury	$10.43	315
121	Lytton	$10.38	274
122	Stockton	$10.37	171
123	Rhodes	$10.36	269
124	Randall	$10.35	156
125	Dedham	$10.28	221
126	Deloit	$10.28	246
127	Protivin	$10.28	264
128	Meriden	$10.28	175
129	Drakesville	$10.24	170
130	Bronson	$10.14	294
131	Hancock	$10.13	199
132	La Motte	$10.09	235
133	Melvin	$10.05	196
134	Defiance	$10.05	248
135	Floyd	$10.02	297
136	Barnum	$9.96	186
137	Panama	$9.85	234
138	Grafton	$9.83	212
139	Tingley	$9.81	146
140	Ionia	$9.65	220
141	Salix	$9.63	303
142	Van Wert	$9.62	175
143	Kirkville	$9.59	159
144	Luxemburg	$9.58	240
145	Rippey	$9.42	217
146	Elberon	$9.16	178
147	Dixon	$9.03	204
148	Lester	$8.94	309
149	Blairsburg	$8.93	175
150	Prairieburg	$8.91	156
151	Oakville	$8.89	198
152	Luther	$8.83	147
153	Harvey	$8.71	242
154	Washta	$8.65	206
155	Moorland	$8.61	169
156	Pilot Mound	$8.54	155
157	Ollie	$8.44	196
158	Thor	$8.38	182
159	Rowley	$8.31	264
160	South English	$8.27	196
161	Thurman	$8.26	162
162	Boxholm	$8.11	177
163	Fostoria	$8.10	229
164	Low Moor	$8.10	242
165	Bertram	$8.10	267
166	Nichols	$8.10	317
167	Laurel	$8.10	214
168	Lineville	$8.10	194
169	Luana	$7.98	303
170	Lockridge	$7.92	245
171	Mount Auburn	$7.86	162
172	Haverhill	$7.86	164
173	Grand River	$7.86	192
174	Olds	$7.86	174
175	Dickens	$7.86	146
176	Rose Hill	$7.86	156
177	West Chester	$7.82	147
178	Mcclelland	$7.79	147
179	Lidderdale	$7.68	162
180	Pulaski	$7.58	259
181	Sheldahl	$7.56	312
182	Fredonia	$7.55	227
183	Harpers Ferry	$7.49	273
184	Alvord	$7.41	216
185	Packwood	$6.77	186
186	Libertyville	$6.60	278
187	Keswick	$6.49	238
188	Crawfordsville	$6.44	278
189	Gravity	$6.18	149
190	Oakland Acres	$5.88	178
191	Maysville	$5.77	155
192	Maharishi Vedic City	$3.87	290
193	West Okoboji	$2.92	311
194	Sherrill	$2.66	176
195	Rickardsville	$2.27	204

The $8.10 limit

Alta Vista’s general levy is $8.24 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.14 above the limit; it has to come down in steps.⁴ 133 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

$8.10

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.48 · FY26 $8.48 · FY27 $8.24 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $11.64 more⁵

Liability, property & self insurance costs$6.79 · $27,951
Total Employee Benefit Levies$4.85 · $19,965

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$33,91241%
Liability, property & self insurance costs$27,95134%
Total Employee Benefit Levies$19,96524%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Alta Vista’s budget goes, FY26

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 193 Iowa cities closest in size (150–330 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (193)
Business Type / Enterprise	48¢	34¢
General Government	21¢	20¢
Public Works	13¢	22¢
Public Safety	10¢	10¢
Culture and Recreation	7¢	8¢

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.

Public Works$70,00032%
General Government$67,45031%
Public Safety$42,10919%
Culture and Recreation$36,45017%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($221,000 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$72,000	$43,919
Public Safety	$53,800	$128,635
Health and Social Services	$275	$4,847
General Government	$34,500	$98,187
Debt Service	$0	$0
Culture and Recreation	$40,500	$38,247
Community and Economic Development	$0	$0
Capital Projects	$0	$0
Business Type / Enterprise	$265,000	$248,960

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁶

$577,768

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? ⁷

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: $17,126 in FY25, down 5% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 24% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$34,776	$33,452	$33,454	$17,126

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.

$5,877

$1,266

Other$1,266100%

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$5,835
FY20	$1,684
FY21	$5,877
FY22	$1,610
FY23	$1,927
FY24	$1,278
FY25	$1,266

Show the numbers

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$5,835
FY20	$1,684
FY21	$5,877
FY22	$1,610
FY23	$1,927
FY24	$1,278
FY25	$1,266

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−24%$17,948 → $17,126, down 5% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 24% 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 9% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 13% less.

$38,323

$30,928

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

City · 2

Alta Vista City Council At-Large

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Adam Roethler Winner3237.2%
Daniel Mahoney Winner2933.7%
Rick Heying Winner2529.1%

Alta Vista Mayor

Burt Ostert Unopposed26100.0%

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

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁸

Sandy Salmon (Sen. 29)Charley Thomson (Rep. 58)

U.S. House:District 2

Chickasaw County New Hampton schools

Notes

For a $200,000 home with the homestead credit, at the combined rate in most of the city. Some parts of the city pay a different rate (special districts, tax increment financing districts). ↩
Cities adopt their budgets each spring for the year starting July 1. ↩
FY27 rates from the Department of Management. A higher rate isn’t always a bigger bill: it depends on how much property there is to tax. Sizes: Census Bureau 2024 estimates. ↩
Iowa Code section 384.1, as changed by House File 718 (2023). Until FY25 a city’s regular general levy was capped at $8.10 by itself, and a city at the cap could add an emergency levy of up to $0.27. From FY25 the general levy and several smaller levies were combined into one “consolidated” general levy with an $8.10 limit; a city whose combined rate was above $8.10 lowers it in steps, in years its taxable value grows by more than the law allows, until it reaches $8.10. So years before FY25 aren’t directly comparable with later ones. ↩
Levies outside the limit are each set aside for one purpose and have their own rules: debt service pays back bonds voters or the council approved, employee benefits cover pensions and insurance, and some (transit, an airport, insurance costs) have their own caps in state law. ↩
The state’s FY24 spending file repeats the year before for nearly every Iowa city, so that year isn’t shown. ↩
From the city’s annual financial reports to the state (Iowa Data Hub, city actual revenues). “Today’s dollars” adjusts each year by the consumer price index for the Midwest, so a flat line in today’s dollars means the money buys the same as before. ↩
Legislative and congressional districts that cover Alta Vista; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Alta Vista works within. ↩

Sources: City budgets and levies from the Department of Management; tax rates from the Iowa Data Hub; state payments from the Department of Revenue; prices from the consumer price index; legislative districts from Census Bureau maps.

Alta Vista

Who runs it

Meetings and agendas

Property taxes

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Alta Vista

Rates over time

Compared with places this size3

The $8.10 limit

Outside the limit: $11.64 more5

The city’s levies, FY27

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Alta Vista’s budget goes, FY26

Planned spending, FY27

What it spent each year

State money

What the state pays the city every year

Grants and project money

Has it kept up with prices?

Collected by the state for the city

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress8

Compared with places this size³

Outside the limit: $11.64 more⁵

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁸