Who runs it
The city council passes ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the city’s property tax.
- Cheryl Ann SpechtSageville City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- Kevin SchmittSageville Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
- Molly LaakerSageville City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- Samuel KennikerSageville City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
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 Sageville
Homes and businesses in most of Sageville pay a combined $20.39 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Dubuque County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, its own rate. Estimate your bill.
- Dubuque schools$12.4861%
- Dubuque County$5.7328%
- Northeast Iowa Community College$1.045%
- Sunnycrest Manor County Hospital$0.713%
- Dubuque County Assessor$0.322%
- Dubuque County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.11<1%
Rates over time
Per $1,000 of taxable value: the typical combined rate people in Sageville pay, and the city government’s own piece of it.
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $22.37 | $0.00 |
| FY21 | $22.21 | $0.00 |
| FY22 | $21.89 | $0.00 |
| FY23 | $20.84 | $0.00 |
| FY24 | $21.62 | $0.00 |
| FY25 | $20.20 | $0.00 |
| FY26 | $20.36 | $0.00 |
| FY27 | $20.39 | $0.00 |
Show the numbers
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $22.37 | $0.00 |
| FY21 | $22.21 | $0.00 |
| FY22 | $21.89 | $0.00 |
| FY23 | $20.84 | $0.00 |
| FY24 | $21.62 | $0.00 |
| FY25 | $20.20 | $0.00 |
| FY26 | $20.36 | $0.00 |
| FY27 | $20.39 | $0.00 |
Budget and spending
Where each dollar of Sageville’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 136 Iowa cities closest in size (70–160 people).
| Where it goes | Of each dollar | Cities this size (136) |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Projects | 61¢ | 2¢ |
| General Government | 29¢ | 27¢ |
| Public Safety | 8¢ | 9¢ |
| Public Works | 3¢ | 29¢ |
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.
Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
| Function | Budget | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| Public Works | $12,450 | $16,427 |
| Public Safety | $6,000 | $4,401 |
| Health and Social Services | $0 | $0 |
| General Government | $34,337 | $29,399 |
| Debt Service | $0 | $0 |
| Culture and Recreation | $0 | $0 |
| Community and Economic Development | $0 | $0 |
| Capital Projects | $100,000 | $0 |
| Business Type / Enterprise | $0 | $0 |
What it spent each year
FY24 left out3
Debt, reserves and audits
How local debt works · What an audit tells you
What Sageville owes
No debt at June 30, 2026.4
| June 30 | Owed | Per resident |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $0 | $0 |
| 2025 | $0 | $0 |
| 2024 | $0 | $0 |
| 2023 | $0 | $0 |
| 2022 | $0 | $0 |
| 2021 | $0 | $0 |
| 2020 | $0 | $0 |
| 2019 | $0 | $0 |
| 2018 | $0 | $0 |
| 2017 | $0 | $0 |
| 2016 | $0 | $0 |
| 2015 | $0 | $0 |
| 2014 | $0 | $0 |
| 2013 | $0 | $0 |
| 2012 | $0 | $0 |
| 2011 | $0 | $0 |
| 2010 | $0 | $0 |
Show the numbers
| June 30 | Owed | Per resident |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $0 | $0 |
| 2025 | $0 | $0 |
| 2024 | $0 | $0 |
| 2023 | $0 | $0 |
| 2022 | $0 | $0 |
| 2021 | $0 | $0 |
| 2020 | $0 | $0 |
| 2019 | $0 | $0 |
| 2018 | $0 | $0 |
| 2017 | $0 | $0 |
| 2016 | $0 | $0 |
| 2015 | $0 | $0 |
| 2014 | $0 | $0 |
| 2013 | $0 | $0 |
| 2012 | $0 | $0 |
| 2011 | $0 | $0 |
| 2010 | $0 | $0 |
The 5% limit5
General obligation debt is $0, 0% of the limit of about $865,147 (5% of $17.3M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).
Money in reserve
The state’s budget files don’t include cities’ fund balances6. Sageville’s latest audit has them: Periodic Examination, period ending Sunday, March 31, 2019 (PDF).
Audits7
The latest: Periodic Examination for the period ending Sunday, March 31, 2019 (PDF), released Friday, November 8, 2019, by a CPA firm.
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? 8
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: $3,007 in FY25, down 45% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 57% less. Grants are below.
Show the numbers
| Source | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road Use Tax (streets) | $4,832 | $7,868 | $3,418 | $3,007 |
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.
| Year | Grants and projects |
|---|---|
| FY19 | $0 |
| FY20 | $0 |
| FY21 | $129,000 |
| FY22 | $0 |
| FY23 | $0 |
| FY24 | $0 |
| FY25 | $0 |
Show the numbers
| Year | Grants and projects |
|---|---|
| FY19 | $0 |
| FY20 | $0 |
| FY21 | $129,000 |
| FY22 | $0 |
| FY23 | $0 |
| FY24 | $0 |
| FY25 | $0 |
Has it kept up with prices?
Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.
- Road Use Tax (streets)−57%$5,516 → $3,007, down 45% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 57% 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 4% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 17% less.
Federal grants, for comparison: $7,557 in FY23.
Business awards
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)9.
In a city that can hold a primary, filing runs Monday, August 9, 2027 to Thursday, August 26, 2027.
Most recent: November 4, 2025
Ballot measures · 2
Passed Yes 69.7% (23) · No 30.3% (10)
Passes with more yes votes than no.
Passed Yes 66.7% (22) · No 33.3% (11)
Passes with more yes votes than no.
City · 2
3 seats: the top 3 win.
- Cheryl Ann Specht Winner2131.8%
- Samuel Kenniker Winner2131.8%
- Molly Laaker Winner1725.8%
- Carolyn Gottschalk 710.6%
- Kevin Schmitt Unopposed28100.0%
Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Sageville; 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.
- Sageville City Council At-Large (3 seats)Now held by Cheryl Ann Specht, Molly Laaker, Samuel Kenniker
- Sageville MayorNow held by Kevin Schmitt
Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here10.
Past ballot measures
- Public Measure ANovember 4, 2025
Passed Yes 69.7% (23) · No 30.3% (10)
Passes with more yes votes than no.
- Public Measure BNovember 4, 2025
Passed Yes 66.7% (22) · No 33.3% (11)
Passes with more yes votes than no.
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 ballot11.
Related places
At the Statehouse and in Congress12
Thomas Townsend (Sen. 36)Jennifer J. Smith (Rep. 72)
U.S. House:District 2