Display
Language
About accessibility
Language
Display
Sign in

Local taxes › Dallas County › Woodward

City

Woodward

Dallas County · How cities work

$3,270 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($38.84 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$1,180 a yearof that goes to the city ($14.05 per $1,000)
$597,116property taxes the city levies, FY27
$1.3Mcity 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.

  • James A. GoughWoodward City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Kelly KirtsWoodward City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Tyler RandallWoodward City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Jared StoneWoodward City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Rick L. BiceWoodward City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Todd FolkertsWoodward Mayor · elected November 7, 2023
  • Todd FolkertsWoodward 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 Woodward

Homes and businesses in most of Woodward pay a combined $38.01 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Dallas County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $14.05. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$41.86$17.34
FY21$39.52$15.92
FY22$38.62$15.63
FY23$38.19$15.63
FY24$37.76$15.12
FY25$39.01$14.73
FY26$38.81$14.69
FY27$38.01$14.05
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$41.86$17.34
FY21$39.52$15.92
FY22$38.62$15.63
FY23$38.19$15.63
FY24$37.76$15.12
FY25$39.01$14.73
FY26$38.81$14.69
FY27$38.01$14.05

Compared with places this size3

Woodward’s city property tax rate of $14.05 per $1,000 is the 63rd highest of 140 Iowa cities with 930–2,100 people. The middle of the group is $13.43.

Elkader: $27.11Laurens: $24.16Pocahontas: $20.79Villisca: $19.74Sac City: $19.69Traer: $19.56Corning: $19.36Lake City: $19.32Allison: $19.06Corydon: $18.22Dysart: $17.95Greene: $17.91Britt: $17.72Lansing: $17.67Strawberry Point: $17.58Rockwell: $17.54Gowrie: $17.17Mapleton: $16.90George: $16.89Manson: $16.87Fayette: $16.85Eddyville: $16.82Nashua: $16.81Ackley: $16.63Audubon: $16.52Roland: $16.51Monona: $16.41Aplington: $16.34Durant: $16.24Lamoni: $16.15Panora: $16.14Mechanicsville: $16.12Dike: $15.94Holstein: $15.81State Center: $15.80Pleasantville: $15.80Earlham: $15.55Shell Rock: $15.52Brooklyn: $15.49Stuart: $15.48Mount Ayr: $15.32Sigourney: $15.20Guttenberg: $15.19Sidney: $15.19Logan: $15.05Griswold: $15.01Tripoli: $14.99Sumner: $14.83Woodbine: $14.80Bedford: $14.66Lenox: $14.65Manning: $14.62Van Meter: $14.60Dunlap: $14.56Coon Rapids: $14.49Nora Springs: $14.25Kingsley: $14.25Urbana: $14.20Sheffield: $14.16Parkersburg: $14.15Hartley: $14.11Ida Grove: $14.10Guthrie Center: $14.04Alton: $13.87Montezuma: $13.79Gilbert: $13.71Clarksville: $13.53Avoca: $13.51Janesville: $13.43Glidden: $13.43Calmar: $13.39Baxter: $13.32Wapello: $13.29Manly: $13.29Anita: $13.28Conrad: $13.23Springville: $13.22Shellsburg: $13.20De Soto: $13.18Greenfield: $13.13Treynor: $13.03Odebolt: $13.00Akron: $12.93Leon: $12.93Underwood: $12.85New Sharon: $12.80Slater: $12.79Malvern: $12.79Buffalo: $12.68Sanborn: $12.62New London: $12.56Dallas Center: $12.42Hinton: $12.38Preston: $12.38Remsen: $12.32Monroe: $12.28Denver: $12.27Alta: $12.13Reinbeck: $12.10Winfield: $12.04Elkhart: $12.00Tabor: $11.88Wellman: $11.88Aurelia: $11.84Blue Grass: $11.79Columbus Junction: $11.71Palo: $11.49Prairie City: $11.38Marcus: $11.31Northwood: $11.28Mediapolis: $11.27Melcher-Dallas: $11.21University Heights: $11.12Ogden: $10.99Clarence: $10.94Farley: $10.91Oakland: $10.85Moville: $10.67Elk Run Heights: $10.33Walcott: $10.29Fredericksburg: $10.27Lake Park: $10.25Inwood: $10.22Central City: $10.01Epworth: $9.42Lake View: $9.39Paullina: $9.21Fairbank: $9.00Walford: $8.72Keosauqua: $8.58Lone Tree: $8.13Riverside: $8.02Larchwood: $7.52North English: $7.49Sloan: $7.49Fruitland: $7.21Lawton: $7.10Wayland: $7.07Arnolds Park: $4.95Woodward: $14.05$4.95 lowest$27.11 highestmiddle
See all 140
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Elkader$27.111,192
2Laurens$24.161,253
3Pocahontas$20.791,848
4Villisca$19.741,106
5Sac City$19.691,992
6Traer$19.561,547
7Corning$19.361,509
8Lake City$19.321,656
9Allison$19.06937
10Corydon$18.221,563
11Dysart$17.951,266
12Greene$17.91971
13Britt$17.722,001
14Lansing$17.67959
15Strawberry Point$17.581,141
16Rockwell$17.541,044
17Gowrie$17.17943
18Mapleton$16.901,114
19George$16.891,106
20Manson$16.871,646
21Fayette$16.851,193
22Eddyville$16.82965
23Nashua$16.811,515
24Ackley$16.631,538
25Audubon$16.522,008
26Roland$16.511,376
27Monona$16.411,462
28Aplington$16.341,088
29Durant$16.241,798
30Lamoni$16.152,072
31Panora$16.141,096
32Mechanicsville$16.12974
33Dike$15.941,293
34Holstein$15.811,475
35State Center$15.801,403
36Pleasantville$15.801,696
37Earlham$15.551,411
38Shell Rock$15.521,265
39Brooklyn$15.491,474
40Stuart$15.481,887
41Mount Ayr$15.321,616
42Sigourney$15.201,974
43Guttenberg$15.191,804
44Sidney$15.191,048
45Logan$15.051,351
46Griswold$15.01975
47Tripoli$14.991,208
48Sumner$14.832,032
49Woodbine$14.801,707
50Bedford$14.661,474
51Lenox$14.651,355
52Manning$14.621,390
53Van Meter$14.601,840
54Dunlap$14.561,030
55Coon Rapids$14.491,258
56Nora Springs$14.251,330
57Kingsley$14.251,394
58Urbana$14.201,635
59Sheffield$14.161,123
60Parkersburg$14.151,986
61Hartley$14.111,584
62Ida Grove$14.101,988
63Woodward$14.051,383
64Guthrie Center$14.041,579
65Alton$13.871,248
66Montezuma$13.791,421
67Gilbert$13.711,397
68Clarksville$13.531,238
69Avoca$13.511,685
70Janesville$13.431,052
71Glidden$13.431,140
72Calmar$13.391,100
73Baxter$13.32983
74Wapello$13.292,026
75Manly$13.291,233
76Anita$13.28953
77Conrad$13.231,098
78Springville$13.221,161
79Shellsburg$13.20987
80De Soto$13.18937
81Greenfield$13.131,988
82Treynor$13.031,104
83Odebolt$13.00967
84Akron$12.931,545
85Leon$12.931,779
86Underwood$12.85973
87New Sharon$12.801,249
88Slater$12.791,626
89Malvern$12.791,056
90Buffalo$12.681,163
91Sanborn$12.621,463
92New London$12.561,853
93Dallas Center$12.421,993
94Hinton$12.38959
95Preston$12.38940
96Remsen$12.321,681
97Monroe$12.282,021
98Denver$12.271,955
99Alta$12.132,039
100Reinbeck$12.101,673
101Winfield$12.041,006
102Elkhart$12.001,079
103Tabor$11.88983
104Wellman$11.881,531
105Aurelia$11.84970
106Blue Grass$11.791,707
107Columbus Junction$11.711,794
108Palo$11.491,554
109Prairie City$11.381,722
110Marcus$11.311,069
111Northwood$11.282,047
112Mediapolis$11.271,679
113Melcher-Dallas$11.211,193
114University Heights$11.121,188
115Ogden$10.991,970
116Clarence$10.94991
117Farley$10.911,723
118Oakland$10.851,519
119Moville$10.671,707
120Elk Run Heights$10.331,061
121Walcott$10.291,556
122Fredericksburg$10.27983
123Lake Park$10.251,155
124Inwood$10.22962
125Central City$10.011,254
126Epworth$9.422,042
127Lake View$9.391,120
128Paullina$9.21979
129Fairbank$9.001,133
130Walford$8.721,357
131Keosauqua$8.58944
132Lone Tree$8.131,341
133Riverside$8.021,063
134Larchwood$7.52954
135North English$7.491,030
136Sloan$7.491,078
137Fruitland$7.21928
138Lawton$7.10949
139Wayland$7.07935
140Arnolds Park$4.951,214

The $8.10 limit

Woodward’s general levy is $8.05 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.05 below the limit.4 404 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.37 · FY26 $8.21 · FY27 $8.05 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $6.00 more5

  • Debt Service Levy$3.19 · $149,819
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$1.65 · $67,196
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$1.16 · $47,085

Tax increment financing (TIF)

$6.4M of taxable value in Woodward is in TIF districts’ increment (13% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.6 It budgeted $121,135 in TIF revenue for FY25.

$80,404

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 $69,059 of the city’s own.

  • Woodward-Granger schools$45,275
  • Dallas County$20,619
YearTIF revenue
FY16$2,552
FY17$18,955
FY18$15,247
FY19$40,958
FY20$59,908
FY21$80,157
FY22$79,053
FY23$80,404
Show the numbers
YearTIF revenue
FY16$2,552
FY17$18,955
FY18$15,247
FY19$40,958
FY20$59,908
FY21$80,157
FY22$79,053
FY23$80,404

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$327,09055%
  • Debt Service Levy$149,81925%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$67,19611%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$47,0858%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Woodward’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 38¢ of every dollar38¢Public Works: 21¢ of every dollar21¢Debt Service: 18¢ of every dollar18¢General Government: 8¢ of every dollar8¢Culture and Recreation: 7¢ of every dollarEverything else: 8¢ of every dollar8¢

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 139 Iowa cities closest in size (930–2,100 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (139)
Business Type / Enterprise38¢40¢
Public Works21¢13¢
Debt Service18¢6¢
General Government8¢7¢
Culture and Recreation7¢8¢
Everything else8¢13¢

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$423,55834%
  • Debt Service$356,84228%
  • General Government$168,61813%
  • Culture and Recreation$148,88512%
  • Public Safety$126,76210%
  • Community and Economic Development$31,7083%
  • Health and Social Services$5,5900%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($767,963 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$342,617$280,846
Public Safety$135,886$138,388
Health and Social Services$6,150$30
General Government$111,873$138,532
Debt Service$328,345$488,794
Culture and Recreation$345,089$192,932
Community and Economic Development$27,664$111,523
Capital Projects$337,000$367,323
Business Type / Enterprise$772,879$732,803

What it spent each year

FY24 left out8

$4.6M
$2.9M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Woodward owes

$8.7M at June 30, 2026: $6,446 per resident. 65th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).9

$11.0M
$8.7M
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$8.7M$6,446
2025$9.1M$6,784
2024$9.6M$7,118
2023$10.0M$7,434
2022$10.0M$7,416
2021$10.4M$7,729
2020$10.7M$7,913
2019$11.0M$8,175
2018$5.6M$4,129
2017$5.8M$4,280
2016$5.6M$4,166
2015$5.8M$4,322
2014$2.6M$1,926
2013$2.7M$2,041
2012$2.9M$2,121
2011$905,684$673
2010$1.0M$764
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$8.7M$6,446
2025$9.1M$6,784
2024$9.6M$7,118
2023$10.0M$7,434
2022$10.0M$7,416
2021$10.4M$7,729
2020$10.7M$7,913
2019$11.0M$8,175
2018$5.6M$4,129
2017$5.8M$4,280
2016$5.6M$4,166
2015$5.8M$4,322
2014$2.6M$1,926
2013$2.7M$2,041
2012$2.9M$2,121
2011$905,684$673
2010$1.0M$764

Up 743% since 2010.

The 5% limit10

General obligation debt is $2.8M, 61% of the limit of about $4.5M (5% of $90.5M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

6 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
Revenue BondsSewer Lagoon SAGR System2049$5.1M
General ObligationGO Sewer Improvement Refunding Bond Combined with another bond for the water plant. Previous original bond amount of $2,179,000.002040$1.7M
General ObligationHMA Street Project GO 20152034$1.0M
Revenue BondsHMA 2015 Street Project Road Use Tax Revenue2034$758,000
General ObligationECO Business Park and Ironwood Street2027$60,100
Capital Leases/Lease to PurchasePolice Tahoe2028$14,413

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 balances11. Woodward’s latest audit has them: Annual Examination, period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF).

Audits12

The latest: Annual Examination for the period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF), released Friday, May 1, 2026, by a CPA firm.

The report has no Schedule of Findings Iowa Funnel could read.

13 earlier reports for Woodward

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? 13

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: $191,601 in FY25, down 8% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 26% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$189,055$185,225$190,126$191,158
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)––$13,166$443

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.

$190,455
$3,811
  • State grants$2,13256%
  • Iowa Department of Natural Resources$1,67944%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$1,757
FY20$14,151
FY21$1,997
FY22$1,405
FY23$190,455
FY24$102,025
FY25$3,811
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$1,757
FY20$14,151
FY21$1,997
FY22$1,405
FY23$190,455
FY24$102,025
FY25$3,811

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−20%$189,386 → $191,158, up 1% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 20% less
  • Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)−98%$17,841 → $443, down 98% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 98% 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 57% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 25% more.

$354,022
$351,280

Federal grants, for comparison: $143,693 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)14.

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

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Woodward; 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.

  • Woodward City Council At-Large
    Now held by Jared Stone, Rick L. Bice
  • Woodward Mayor (2 seats)
    Now held by Todd Folkerts, Todd Folkerts

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here15.

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 ballot16.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress17

Jack Whitver (Sen. 23)Dan Gehlbach (Rep. 46)

U.S. House:District 3

Dallas CountyWoodward-Granger schools