City

Zwingle

$2,260 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($26.81 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$580 a yearof that goes to the city ($6.93 per $1,000)

$20,831property taxes the city levies, FY27

$140,625city 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.

Homer Dahlman JrZwingle City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Irene DahlmanZwingle City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
James A. HoernerZwingle City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Joas TroyerZwingle Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Lukas FurlongZwingle City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Paul TaylorZwingle City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Ali ChapmanZwingle City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Joan M. KundeZwingle City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Tim StiermanZwingle 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 Zwingle

Homes and businesses in most of Zwingle pay a combined $26.81 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, $6.93. Estimate your bill.

Maquoketa schools$11.9745%
City of Zwingle$6.9326%
Dubuque County$5.7321%
Eastern Iowa Community College$1.044%
Sunnycrest Manor County Hospital$0.713%
Dubuque County Assessor$0.321%
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 Zwingle pay, and the city government’s own piece of it.

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$26.72	$6.10
FY21	$27.15	$6.60
FY22	$26.66	$6.31
FY23	$25.93	$5.96
FY24	$20.12	$0.00
FY25	$26.90	$7.00
FY26	$27.16	$7.00
FY27	$26.81	$6.93

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$26.72	$6.10
FY21	$27.15	$6.60
FY22	$26.66	$6.31
FY23	$25.93	$5.96
FY24	$20.12	$0.00
FY25	$26.90	$7.00
FY26	$27.16	$7.00
FY27	$26.81	$6.93

Compared with places this size³

Zwingle’s city property tax rate of $6.93 per $1,000 is the 17th lowest of 113 Iowa cities with 60–130 people. The middle of the group is $9.32.

See all 113

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Castana	$34.13	103
2	Dougherty	$25.38	61
3	Hansell	$23.66	85
4	Whitten	$22.65	98
5	Stanley	$20.69	86
6	Rowan	$19.53	118
7	Bouton	$19.25	125
8	Ricketts	$19.22	105
9	Varina	$19.09	69
10	Sharpsburg	$18.93	69
11	Grant	$18.71	82
12	Derby	$18.13	89
13	Monmouth	$16.41	129
14	Blockton	$16.37	123
15	Waterville	$16.25	112
16	Popejoy	$15.80	76
17	Marne	$15.03	109
18	Baldwin	$14.91	99
19	Truesdale	$14.56	64
20	Yorktown	$14.48	60
21	Ayrshire	$13.55	128
22	Searsboro	$13.55	129
23	Ferguson	$13.53	98
24	Lanesboro	$13.53	112
25	Cylinder	$12.52	84
26	Aredale	$12.19	59
27	Arion	$12.14	99
28	East Peru	$11.89	119
29	Dolliver	$11.85	63
30	Morley	$11.74	94
31	Ledyard	$11.74	118
32	Toronto	$11.68	101
33	Matlock	$11.44	74
34	Melrose	$11.27	110
35	Nodaway	$11.20	74
36	Promise City	$11.13	91
37	Masonville	$11.00	98
38	Somers	$10.99	121
39	Havelock	$10.95	127
40	Numa	$10.80	69
41	Pacific Junction	$10.56	99
42	Oto	$10.45	71
43	Bradgate	$10.37	76
44	North Washington	$10.23	107
45	Dawson	$10.19	110
46	Guernsey	$10.13	59
47	Hartwick	$9.90	91
48	Gray	$9.85	62
49	Rutland	$9.65	116
50	Superior	$9.58	127
51	Webster	$9.55	94
52	Nemaha	$9.53	65
53	Martinsburg	$9.49	109
54	Kirkman	$9.44	60
55	Larrabee	$9.41	116
56	Hamilton	$9.35	125
57	Wiota	$9.32	91
58	Floris	$9.29	119
59	Mitchell	$9.22	118
60	Welton	$8.86	124
61	Archer	$8.84	116
62	Fraser	$8.81	107
63	Macksburg	$8.81	103
64	Andover	$8.28	106
65	Carpenter	$8.10	92
66	Chillicothe	$8.10	79
67	Clio	$8.10	67
68	Orchard	$8.10	64
69	Rome	$8.10	112
70	Scarville	$8.10	75
71	Shannon City	$8.10	73
72	Struble	$8.10	72
73	Turin	$8.10	69
74	Unionville	$8.10	74
75	Westfield	$8.10	121
76	Vincent	$8.09	125
77	Buckeye	$7.94	82
78	Gruver	$7.89	63
79	Redding	$7.86	64
80	Morrison	$7.86	101
81	Oyens	$7.86	88
82	Ralston	$7.86	76
83	Chatsworth	$7.86	72
84	Cromwell	$7.81	104
85	Arispe	$7.71	95
86	Luzerne	$7.69	111
87	Westwood	$7.67	96
88	Kinross	$7.57	80
89	Bernard	$7.56	117
90	Bevington	$7.41	62
91	Garber	$7.35	76
92	Spring Hill	$7.26	68
93	Greenville	$7.24	69
94	Spragueville	$7.20	92
95	Craig	$7.01	78
96	Brunsville	$6.95	128
97	Zwingle	$6.93	86
98	Pleasant Plain	$6.79	83
99	Houghton	$6.73	129
100	Williamson	$6.72	126
101	Willey	$6.69	72
102	Lincoln	$6.32	119
103	Tennant	$6.29	83
104	Sandyville	$6.06	59
105	Ackworth	$5.90	117
106	Harper	$5.29	117
107	Keomah Village	$3.15	107
108	Mcintire	$2.78	115
109	Graf	$2.56	76
110	Centralia	$2.41	117
111	Gibson	$1.88	58
112	North Buena Vista	$1.78	107
113	Balltown	$0.12	78

The $8.10 limit

Zwingle’s general levy is $6.93 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $1.17 below the limit.⁴ 852 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

$8.10

FY23 $5.96 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $7.00 · FY26 $7.00 · FY27 $6.93 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

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$20,682100%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Zwingle’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 114 Iowa cities closest in size (60–130 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (114)
Public Works	44¢	31¢
Business Type / Enterprise	28¢	16¢
General Government	27¢	30¢
Public Safety	1¢	10¢

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$50,62536%
Capital Projects$50,00036%
General Government$38,70028%
Public Safety$1,3001%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($29,774 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$14,170	$16,673
Public Safety	$900	$1,143
Health and Social Services	$0	$0
General Government	$19,975	$24,050
Debt Service	$0	$0
Culture and Recreation	$0	$0
Community and Economic Development	$2,500	$0
Capital Projects	$0	$0
Business Type / Enterprise	$0	$48,686

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁵

$119,170

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Zwingle owes

$38,285 at June 30, 2026: $456 per resident. 646th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).⁶

$91,146

$38,285

June 30	Owed	Per resident
2026	$38,285	$456
2025	$46,485	$553
2024	$49,699	$592
2023	$52,890	$630
2022	$69,077	$822
2021	$69,077	$822
2020	$69,077	$822
2019	$69,077	$822
2018	$66,140	$787
2017	$76,140	$906
2016	$76,140	$906
2015	$76,140	$906
2014	$76,140	$906
2013	$0	$0
2012	$90,789	$1,081
2011	$90,789	$1,081
2010	$91,146	$1,085

Show the numbers

June 30	Owed	Per resident
2026	$38,285	$456
2025	$46,485	$553
2024	$49,699	$592
2023	$52,890	$630
2022	$69,077	$822
2021	$69,077	$822
2020	$69,077	$822
2019	$69,077	$822
2018	$66,140	$787
2017	$76,140	$906
2016	$76,140	$906
2015	$76,140	$906
2014	$76,140	$906
2013	$0	$0
2012	$90,789	$1,081
2011	$90,789	$1,081
2010	$91,146	$1,085

Down 58% since 2010.

The 5% limit⁷

General obligation debt is $0, 0% of the limit of about $311,086 (5% of $6.2M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

1 obligation at June 30, 2026

Kind	For	Paid off by	Owed
Loans	Sewer Loan - USDA	2036	$38,285

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 balances⁸. Zwingle’s latest audit has them: Periodic Examination, period ending Monday, March 31, 2025 (PDF).

Audits⁹

The latest: Periodic Examination for the period ending Monday, March 31, 2025 (PDF), released Tuesday, March 31, 2026, by a CPA firm.

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

1 earlier report for Zwingle

Periodic Examination, period ending Friday, June 30, 2017Monday, October 30, 2017

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? ¹⁰

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: $8,805 in FY25, up 10% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 12% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$2,957	$8,552	$8,758	$8,805

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.

$6,878

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$0
FY20	$0
FY21	$0
FY22	$0
FY23	$6,878
FY24	$0
FY25	$0

Show the numbers

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$0
FY20	$0
FY21	$0
FY22	$0
FY23	$6,878
FY24	$0
FY25	$0

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−12%$7,982 → $8,805, up 10% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 12% 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 down 10% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 29% less.

$18,978

$13,208

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)¹¹.

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

Zwingle City Council At-Large

5 seats: the top 5 win.

Paul Taylor Winner1622.2%
James A. Hoerner Winner1520.8%
Homer Dahlman Jr Winner1318.1%
Irene Dahlman Winner1318.1%
Lukas Furlong Winner811.1%
Collin Frazier 79.7%

1 more →

Zwingle Mayor

Joas Troyer Winner660.0%
Nathen Kunde 440.0%

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Zwingle; 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.

Zwingle City Council At-Large (5 seats)
Now held by James A. Hoerner, Tim Stierman, Joan M. Kunde, Paul Taylor, Ali Chapman
Zwingle Mayor
Now held by Joas Troyer

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here¹².

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 ballot¹³.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress¹⁴

Carrie Koelker (Sen. 33)Shannon Lundgren (Rep. 65)

U.S. House:District 2

Dubuque County Maquoketa 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. ↩
The state’s FY24 spending file repeats the year before for nearly every Iowa city, so that year isn’t shown. ↩
From the reports each government files with the Treasurer of State’s debt reporting site. “Per resident” divides by the population the site lists, the same figure for every year, so the trend shows the debt itself changing. ↩
Article XI, section 3 of the Iowa Constitution limits a county, city or school district’s debt to 5% of the value of the taxable property in it. Iowa applies the limit to the full (100%) value, before the rollback, and it covers general obligation debt, backed by property taxes; revenue bonds repaid only from fees, like water bills, don’t count. Iowa Funnel compares general obligation debt with 5% of the value two years earlier, as the last tax lists before the year; a government’s own bond documents state its exact figure. ↩
The Department of Management’s city budget and annual report files on the Iowa Data Hub give revenue and spending by city, but no beginning or ending fund balances. A city’s audit or annual financial report has them, in its statement of net position and its fund balance schedules. ↩
From the Auditor of State’s list of audit reports. Every Iowa city, county and school district is audited or examined: larger ones each year by a CPA firm or the Auditor of State, small cities every few years. Findings are problems the auditors report, from weak controls over cash to breaking a law. ↩
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. ↩
Iowa Code §376.4(1)(a): nomination papers are filed 71 to 47 days before the election, by 5:00 p.m. on the last day. Cities that may hold a primary election file earlier: 85 to 68 days before. ↩
Expected seats come from when each seat was last elected and its term. Filed candidates come from civicAPI and, in Black Hawk, Johnson and Scott counties, the auditor’s published candidate list, read weekly while filing is open. Check with the county auditor or city clerk before relying on it. Only names are shown. ↩
Iowa Code §39.2(4) (2026), paragraph d: “For any political subdivision of this state, if the special election is in whole or in part for the question of issuing bonds or other indebtedness, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.” This applies to bond elections on or after July 1, 2023. Subsection 2 adds that “a special election for a city, school district, or merged area shall not be scheduled to coincide with the general election.” A few kinds of elections follow their own rules (“unless otherwise provided by law”). ↩
Legislative and congressional districts that cover Zwingle; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Zwingle 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.

Zwingle

Who runs it

Meetings and agendas

Property taxes

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Zwingle

Rates over time

Compared with places this size3

The $8.10 limit

The city’s levies, FY27

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Zwingle’s budget goes, FY26

Planned spending, FY27

What it spent each year

Debt, reserves and audits

What Zwingle owes

The 5% limit7

Money in reserve

Audits9

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

Business awards

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

Who has filed for Tuesday, November 2, 2027

Past ballot measures

When a measure can be on the ballot

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress14

Compared with places this size³

The 5% limit⁷

Audits⁹

At the Statehouse and in Congress¹⁴