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Local taxes › Dickinson County › Spirit Lake

City

Spirit Lake

Dickinson County · How cities work

$2,060 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($24.42 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$860 a yearof that goes to the city ($10.17 per $1,000)
$5.7Mproperty taxes the city levies, FY27
$11.5Mcity 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.

  • Angela KofootSpirit Lake City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • John ChappasSpirit Lake City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Kevin BiceSpirit Lake Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • Brett J. JohnsonSpirit Lake City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • David MensingSpirit Lake City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Keith BrockmeyerSpirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake

Homes and businesses in most of Spirit Lake pay a combined $24.42 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Dickinson County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $10.17. Estimate your bill.

  • City of Spirit Lake$10.1742%
  • Spirit Lake schools$7.8132%
  • Great Lakes Sanitary Sewer$2.5010%
  • Dickinson County$1.908%
  • Iowa Lakes Community College$1.275%
  • Dickinson County Hospital$0.482%
  • Dickinson County Assessor$0.18<1%
  • Dickinson County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.07<1%
  • Centgrove-Wokobji-Arnpark-Okob Cem$0.04<1%

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$25.72$10.54
FY21$25.84$10.54
FY22$25.81$10.54
FY23$25.57$10.54
FY24$26.41$10.54
FY25$26.06$10.20
FY26$24.43$9.54
FY27$24.42$10.17
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$25.72$10.54
FY21$25.84$10.54
FY22$25.81$10.54
FY23$25.57$10.54
FY24$26.41$10.54
FY25$26.06$10.20
FY26$24.43$9.54
FY27$24.42$10.17

Compared with places this size3

Spirit Lake’s city property tax rate of $10.17 per $1,000 is the 5th lowest of 58 Iowa cities with 3,700–8,300 people. The middle of the group is $14.92.

Red Oak: $20.65Oelwein: $20.16Independence: $19.01Iowa Falls: $18.86Denison: $18.69West Liberty: $18.68Chariton: $18.37Perry: $17.91Atlantic: $17.48Knoxville: $17.46Clarinda: $17.25Centerville: $16.85Algona: $16.75Webster City: $16.51Vinton: $16.25Winterset: $16.15Cresco: $16.13Humboldt: $16.00Anamosa: $15.95Charles City: $15.95Forest City: $15.77Decorah: $15.52Sheldon: $15.33Estherville: $15.27Washington: $15.21Harlan: $15.07Shenandoah: $15.02Creston: $14.99Manchester: $14.96Jefferson: $14.88Hampton: $14.86Carlisle: $14.82Cherokee: $14.82Glenwood: $14.77Waukon: $14.76Nevada: $14.58Monticello: $14.49Osceola: $14.37Windsor Heights: $14.30Orange City: $14.01Hiawatha: $13.78Rock Valley: $13.76Sergeant Bluff: $13.70Mount Vernon: $13.50Adel: $13.43Maquoketa: $12.85Camanche: $12.75Le Claire: $12.64Tiffin: $11.80Huxley: $11.68Polk City: $11.00Carter Lake: $10.67Dyersville: $10.27Clear Lake: $9.85Asbury: $8.32Eldridge: $8.13Evansdale: $8.00Spirit Lake: $10.17$8.00 lowest$20.65 highestmiddle
See all 58
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Red Oak$20.655,420
2Oelwein$20.165,788
3Independence$19.016,266
4Iowa Falls$18.864,993
5Denison$18.698,302
6West Liberty$18.683,724
7Chariton$18.374,278
8Perry$17.918,046
9Atlantic$17.486,717
10Knoxville$17.467,440
11Clarinda$17.255,334
12Centerville$16.855,345
13Algona$16.755,341
14Webster City$16.517,763
15Vinton$16.254,962
16Winterset$16.155,421
17Cresco$16.133,890
18Humboldt$16.004,774
19Anamosa$15.955,845
20Charles City$15.957,081
21Forest City$15.774,199
22Decorah$15.527,454
23Sheldon$15.335,584
24Estherville$15.275,796
25Washington$15.217,281
26Harlan$15.074,898
27Shenandoah$15.024,878
28Creston$14.997,421
29Manchester$14.965,283
30Jefferson$14.884,148
31Hampton$14.864,340
32Carlisle$14.824,381
33Cherokee$14.825,186
34Glenwood$14.775,250
35Waukon$14.763,799
36Nevada$14.587,082
37Monticello$14.494,095
38Osceola$14.375,585
39Windsor Heights$14.305,106
40Orange City$14.016,547
41Hiawatha$13.787,347
42Rock Valley$13.764,024
43Sergeant Bluff$13.705,335
44Mount Vernon$13.504,518
45Adel$13.436,763
46Maquoketa$12.856,064
47Camanche$12.754,536
48Le Claire$12.644,776
49Tiffin$11.806,695
50Huxley$11.684,737
51Polk City$11.006,430
52Carter Lake$10.673,752
53Dyersville$10.274,559
54Spirit Lake$10.175,548
55Clear Lake$9.857,602
56Asbury$8.326,051
57Eldridge$8.136,967
58Evansdale$8.004,515

The $8.10 limit

Spirit Lake’s general levy is $7.41 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.69 below the limit.4 824 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $7.86 · FY26 $7.64 · FY27 $7.41 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $2.76 more5

  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$1.54 · $861,306
  • Debt Service Levy$0.94 · $550,125
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$0.22 · $121,797
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$0.06 · $32,502

Tax increment financing (TIF)

$28.5M of taxable value in Spirit Lake is in TIF districts’ increment (5% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.6 It budgeted $1.7M in TIF revenue for FY25.

$2.8M
$2.6M

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 $262,877 of the city’s own.

  • Spiritlake schools$60,205
  • Dickinson County$54,093
  • Spirit Lake schools$49,472
YearTIF revenue
FY16$2.4M
FY17$2.6M
FY18$2.8M
FY19$2.6M
FY20$2.3M
FY21$2.6M
FY22$2.6M
FY23$2.6M
Show the numbers
YearTIF revenue
FY16$2.4M
FY17$2.6M
FY18$2.8M
FY19$2.6M
FY20$2.3M
FY21$2.6M
FY22$2.6M
FY23$2.6M

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$4.1M73%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$861,30615%
  • Debt Service Levy$550,12510%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$121,7972%
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$32,5021%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Spirit Lake’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 42¢ of every dollar42¢Capital Projects: 20¢ of every dollar20¢Public Works: 10¢ of every dollar10¢Public Safety: 10¢ of every dollar10¢Culture and Recreation: 6¢ of every dollarEverything else: 11¢ of every dollar11¢

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 57 Iowa cities closest in size (3,700–8,300 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (57)
Business Type / Enterprise42¢36¢
Capital Projects20¢20¢
Public Works10¢8¢
Public Safety10¢13¢
Culture and Recreation6¢8¢
Everything else11¢15¢

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.

  • Capital Projects$3.5M31%
  • Public Safety$2.1M19%
  • Public Works$1.9M17%
  • Debt Service$1.2M11%
  • Culture and Recreation$1.1M10%
  • Community and Economic Development$767,0517%
  • General Government$746,1757%
  • Health and Social Services$52,0000%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($8.6M in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$1.3M$1.4M
Public Safety$1.6M$1.5M
Health and Social Services$37,025$31,025
General Government$463,032$427,489
Debt Service$3.4M$3.4M
Culture and Recreation$801,362$1.0M
Community and Economic Development$496,810$452,064
Capital Projects$720,000$745,041
Business Type / Enterprise$3.6M$3.4M

What it spent each year

FY24 left out8

$20.4M
$18.4M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Spirit Lake owes

$13.4M at June 30, 2026: $2,465 per resident. 328th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).9

$34.7M
$13.4M
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$13.4M$2,465
2025$7.4M$1,354
2024$5.9M$1,079
2023$8.5M$1,567
2022$11.9M$2,184
2021$15.0M$2,760
2020$18.9M$3,471
2019$21.9M$4,024
2018$25.0M$4,599
2017$26.7M$4,917
2016$29.5M$5,428
2015$30.8M$5,655
2014$32.0M$5,883
2013$32.4M$5,960
2012$33.1M$6,078
2011$33.1M$6,085
2010$34.7M$6,377
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$13.4M$2,465
2025$7.4M$1,354
2024$5.9M$1,079
2023$8.5M$1,567
2022$11.9M$2,184
2021$15.0M$2,760
2020$18.9M$3,471
2019$21.9M$4,024
2018$25.0M$4,599
2017$26.7M$4,917
2016$29.5M$5,428
2015$30.8M$5,655
2014$32.0M$5,883
2013$32.4M$5,960
2012$33.1M$6,078
2011$33.1M$6,085
2010$34.7M$6,377

Down 61% since 2010.

The 5% limit10

General obligation debt is $12.1M, 25% of the limit of about $48.6M (5% of $972.6M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

6 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
General ObligationWTP Upgrades Phase 2, 23rd St Reconstruction Phase 2, Utilities Improvement (Seemann Dev), Future Sewer2046$4.8M
General ObligationWTP Automation and Control Upgrades2044$3.5M
General Obligation23rd St Reconstruction2045$2.0M
General ObligationBond refunding Bond 0 Series 2015 and Bond M Series 20162035$1.4M
Revenue BondsSRF Water Revenue Bond for Raw Water Improvement Project2037$1.3M
General ObligationRefunding, Bond 2012 Go Refunding, Bond 2012C Go UR, Bond 2013 GO Cap Loan, 2014 G.O Cap Loan, 2015 G.O. Refunding2028$400,000

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 balances11. Spirit Lake’s latest audit has them: Financial Statement, period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF).

Audits12

The latest: Financial Statement for the period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF), released Friday, February 13, 2026, by a CPA firm.

16 earlier reports for Spirit Lake

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: $1.1M in FY25, up 41% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 12% more. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$736,968$748,468$768,273$772,443
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)$140,697$130,267$309,034$310,427

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.

$133,230
$65,249
  • Iowa Economic Development Authority$60,00092%
  • State Aid Library$5,2498%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$13,960
FY20$49,549
FY21$133,230
FY22$72,996
FY23$15,121
FY24$12,865
FY25$65,249
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$13,960
FY20$49,549
FY21$133,230
FY22$72,996
FY23$15,121
FY24$12,865
FY25$65,249

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−2%$625,517 → $772,443, up 23% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 2% less
  • Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)+71%$144,663 → $310,427, up 115% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 71% 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 51% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 20% more.

$1.7M

Federal grants, for comparison: $1,600 in FY24.

Business awards

Every award statewide

State economic development awards

Community college new jobs training: 12 contracts since 2003 worth $4.9M, for 747 pledged jobs.

Awards 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)14.

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

2 seats: the top 2 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Spirit Lake; 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.

  • Spirit Lake City Council At-Large (3 seats)
    Now held by Brett J. Johnson, Keith Brockmeyer, David Mensing
  • Spirit Lake Mayor
    Now held by Kevin Bice

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

David D. Rowley (Sen. 5)John H. Wills (Rep. 10)

U.S. House:District 4

Dickinson CountySpirit Lake schools