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Local taxes › Floyd County › Rockford

City

Rockford

Floyd County · How cities work

$3,060 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($36.30 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$1,140 a yearof that goes to the city ($13.52 per $1,000)
$319,213property taxes the city levies, FY27
$933,962city 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.

  • Jerome SchladerRockford City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Paul PearsonRockford City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Scott JohnsonRockford Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • Sharon EnabnitRockford City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Alexandra SeibertRockford City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Derek JohnsonRockford 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 Rockford

Homes and businesses in most of Rockford pay a combined $36.30 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Floyd County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $13.52. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$33.93$13.51
FY21$33.64$13.57
FY22$32.79$13.17
FY23$33.72$13.59
FY24$33.92$14.29
FY25$34.10$14.64
FY26$33.72$14.44
FY27$36.30$13.52
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$33.93$13.51
FY21$33.64$13.57
FY22$32.79$13.17
FY23$33.72$13.59
FY24$33.92$14.29
FY25$34.10$14.64
FY26$33.72$14.44
FY27$36.30$13.52

Compared with places this size3

Rockford’s city property tax rate of $13.52 per $1,000 is the 73rd highest of 183 Iowa cities with 480–1,100 people. The middle of the group is $12.78.

Exira: $24.81Rolfe: $22.67Dayton: $22.51Charter Oak: $21.32Correctionville: $19.84Pomeroy: $19.60Allison: $19.06Dumont: $19.04Seymour: $18.78Dexter: $18.69Fonda: $18.52Kanawha: $18.11Swea City: $18.04Greene: $17.91Alden: $17.90Elma: $17.82Dows: $17.70New Hartford: $17.69Lansing: $17.67Rockwell: $17.54Walnut: $17.46Murray: $17.44Gowrie: $17.17Colo: $17.14Adair: $16.84Eddyville: $16.82Elk Horn: $16.78Oxford: $16.70Buffalo Center: $16.58Bancroft: $16.52Titonka: $16.45Eldon: $16.42Early: $16.35Truro: $16.34Mechanicsville: $16.12Scranton: $16.01Armstrong: $15.87Ruthven: $15.84Minden: $15.77Walker: $15.74Newell: $15.49Riceville: $15.31Neola: $15.30Sidney: $15.19Gilbertville: $15.15Stanwood: $15.12Stratford: $15.03Griswold: $15.01Zearing: $14.99Readlyn: $14.99Wyoming: $14.81Hopkinton: $14.79Essex: $14.76Gilmore City: $14.60Dunlap: $14.56Garnavillo: $14.52Maxwell: $14.50Sabula: $14.38Collins: $14.32Clermont: $14.30Moulton: $14.25Mcgregor: $14.20Olin: $14.19Primghar: $14.18Elgin: $14.05Ossian: $13.88Redfield: $13.73Victor: $13.72Edgewood: $13.64Sioux Rapids: $13.63Donnellson: $13.63Gladbrook: $13.58Janesville: $13.43Boyden: $13.39Baxter: $13.32Anita: $13.28Van Horne: $13.27Keota: $13.21Shellsburg: $13.20De Soto: $13.18Quasqueton: $13.12Farmington: $13.10Anthon: $13.05Odebolt: $13.00Coggon: $12.99Earlville: $12.90Brighton: $12.88Danville: $12.87Underwood: $12.85Malvern: $12.79Montrose: $12.78Goldfield: $12.73Wellsburg: $12.68Delmar: $12.68Badger: $12.67Stanton: $12.62Hospers: $12.58Everly: $12.51Hazleton: $12.48West Point: $12.39Hinton: $12.38Preston: $12.38Alburnett: $12.30Hubbard: $12.30Moravia: $12.27Hedrick: $12.22Carson: $12.22Wheatland: $12.18Schaller: $12.14Winfield: $12.04Elkhart: $12.00Afton: $11.96Lowden: $11.93Tabor: $11.88Albert City: $11.88Aurelia: $11.84Merrill: $11.64Ellsworth: $11.57Morning Sun: $11.50Battle Creek: $11.49Wall Lake: $11.43West Bend: $11.42Dakota City: $11.39Marcus: $11.31Dunkerton: $11.30Sutherland: $11.25Arcadia: $11.23Whiting: $11.21Shelby: $11.17Blairstown: $11.04Manilla: $11.01Hamburg: $10.95Clarence: $10.94Ireton: $10.93Fontanelle: $10.88Richland: $10.82Grand Mound: $10.78Cambridge: $10.53Swisher: $10.39Schleswig: $10.39Melbourne: $10.38Radcliffe: $10.37Elk Run Heights: $10.33Fredericksburg: $10.27Ventura: $10.22Inwood: $10.22Milo: $10.20Hartford: $10.16What Cheer: $10.01Newhall: $9.99Cumming: $9.85Graettinger: $9.81Breda: $9.80Doon: $9.78Long Grove: $9.59Paullina: $9.21Winthrop: $8.94Crescent: $8.72Ainsworth: $8.62Keosauqua: $8.58Grand Junction: $8.57Princeton: $8.24Gilman: $8.10Kellogg: $8.10Lakeside: $8.10Riverside: $8.02Agency: $7.94Hills: $7.94Fremont: $7.86Larchwood: $7.52North English: $7.49Sloan: $7.49Sully: $7.41Fruitland: $7.21Lawton: $7.10Wayland: $7.07Raymond: $6.85Keystone: $6.80Shueyville: $6.79New Virginia: $5.97Orleans: $4.13Okoboji: $3.83Rockford: $13.52$3.83 lowest$24.81 highestmiddle
See all 183
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Exira$24.81766
2Rolfe$22.67505
3Dayton$22.51766
4Charter Oak$21.32521
5Correctionville$19.84759
6Pomeroy$19.60511
7Allison$19.06937
8Dumont$19.04614
9Seymour$18.78646
10Dexter$18.69631
11Fonda$18.52636
12Kanawha$18.11638
13Swea City$18.04545
14Greene$17.91971
15Alden$17.90738
16Elma$17.82493
17Dows$17.70509
18New Hartford$17.69555
19Lansing$17.67959
20Rockwell$17.541,044
21Walnut$17.46728
22Murray$17.44609
23Gowrie$17.17943
24Colo$17.14856
25Adair$16.84792
26Eddyville$16.82965
27Elk Horn$16.78631
28Oxford$16.70715
29Buffalo Center$16.58839
30Bancroft$16.52677
31Titonka$16.45491
32Eldon$16.42788
33Early$16.35571
34Truro$16.34515
35Mechanicsville$16.12974
36Scranton$16.01496
37Armstrong$15.87847
38Ruthven$15.84710
39Minden$15.77581
40Walker$15.74671
41Newell$15.49850
42Riceville$15.31807
43Neola$15.30917
44Sidney$15.191,048
45Gilbertville$15.15792
46Stanwood$15.12612
47Stratford$15.03688
48Griswold$15.01975
49Zearing$14.99508
50Readlyn$14.99857
51Wyoming$14.81526
52Hopkinton$14.79622
53Essex$14.76721
54Gilmore City$14.60484
55Dunlap$14.561,030
56Garnavillo$14.52751
57Maxwell$14.50862
58Sabula$14.38498
59Collins$14.32503
60Clermont$14.30571
61Moulton$14.25596
62Mcgregor$14.20725
63Olin$14.19652
64Primghar$14.18893
65Elgin$14.05676
66Ossian$13.88777
67Redfield$13.73719
68Victor$13.72852
69Edgewood$13.64908
70Sioux Rapids$13.63722
71Donnellson$13.63859
72Gladbrook$13.58775
73Rockford$13.52722
74Janesville$13.431,052
75Boyden$13.39694
76Baxter$13.32983
77Anita$13.28953
78Van Horne$13.27768
79Keota$13.21888
80Shellsburg$13.20987
81De Soto$13.18937
82Quasqueton$13.12587
83Farmington$13.10583
84Anthon$13.05534
85Odebolt$13.00967
86Coggon$12.99691
87Earlville$12.90713
88Brighton$12.88592
89Danville$12.87910
90Underwood$12.85973
91Malvern$12.791,056
92Montrose$12.78734
93Goldfield$12.73617
94Wellsburg$12.68709
95Delmar$12.68541
96Badger$12.67540
97Stanton$12.62664
98Hospers$12.58703
99Everly$12.51570
100Hazleton$12.48711
101West Point$12.39903
102Hinton$12.38959
103Preston$12.38940
104Alburnett$12.30672
105Hubbard$12.30837
106Moravia$12.27625
107Hedrick$12.22717
108Carson$12.22772
109Wheatland$12.18765
110Schaller$12.14702
111Winfield$12.041,006
112Elkhart$12.001,079
113Afton$11.96864
114Lowden$11.93767
115Tabor$11.88983
116Albert City$11.88627
117Aurelia$11.84970
118Merrill$11.64713
119Ellsworth$11.57495
120Morning Sun$11.50702
121Battle Creek$11.49683
122Wall Lake$11.43739
123West Bend$11.42770
124Dakota City$11.39764
125Marcus$11.311,069
126Dunkerton$11.30840
127Sutherland$11.25628
128Arcadia$11.23588
129Whiting$11.21725
130Shelby$11.17730
131Blairstown$11.04705
132Manilla$11.01756
133Hamburg$10.95863
134Clarence$10.94991
135Ireton$10.93571
136Fontanelle$10.88684
137Richland$10.82532
138Grand Mound$10.78608
139Cambridge$10.53844
140Swisher$10.39909
141Schleswig$10.39820
142Melbourne$10.38771
143Radcliffe$10.37540
144Elk Run Heights$10.331,061
145Fredericksburg$10.27983
146Ventura$10.22701
147Inwood$10.22962
148Milo$10.20762
149Hartford$10.16729
150What Cheer$10.01595
151Newhall$9.99887
152Cumming$9.85527
153Graettinger$9.81810
154Breda$9.80492
155Doon$9.78640
156Long Grove$9.59849
157Paullina$9.21979
158Winthrop$8.94814
159Crescent$8.72626
160Ainsworth$8.62511
161Keosauqua$8.58944
162Grand Junction$8.57715
163Princeton$8.24917
164Gilman$8.10530
165Kellogg$8.10597
166Lakeside$8.10695
167Riverside$8.021,063
168Agency$7.94623
169Hills$7.94911
170Fremont$7.86688
171Larchwood$7.52954
172North English$7.491,030
173Sloan$7.491,078
174Sully$7.41891
175Fruitland$7.21928
176Lawton$7.10949
177Wayland$7.07935
178Raymond$6.85754
179Keystone$6.80616
180Shueyville$6.79725
181New Virginia$5.97499
182Orleans$4.13503
183Okoboji$3.83729

The $8.10 limit

Rockford’s general levy is $8.35 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.25 above the limit; it has to come down in steps.4 71 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.77 · FY26 $8.60 · FY27 $8.35 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $5.17 more5

  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$1.94 · $45,624
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$1.92 · $45,163
  • Debt Service Levy$1.30 · $30,676
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$0.01 · $215

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$196,74862%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$45,62414%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$45,16314%
  • Debt Service Levy$30,67610%
  • Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$2150%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Rockford’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 69¢ of every dollar69¢Public Works: 11¢ of every dollar11¢General Government: 7¢ of every dollar7¢Culture and Recreation: 6¢ of every dollarPublic Safety: 3¢ of every dollarEverything else: 5¢ of every dollar

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 182 Iowa cities closest in size (480–1,100 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (182)
Business Type / Enterprise69¢40¢
Public Works11¢16¢
General Government7¢10¢
Culture and Recreation6¢9¢
Public Safety3¢9¢
Everything else5¢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.

  • Public Works$248,12827%
  • Capital Projects$229,38025%
  • General Government$209,30022%
  • Culture and Recreation$125,17013%
  • Debt Service$60,7257%
  • Public Safety$41,2594%
  • Community and Economic Development$20,0002%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($1.9M in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$201,393$117,290
Public Safety$27,718$46,659
Health and Social Services$0$0
General Government$212,017$161,576
Debt Service$112,700$59,205
Culture and Recreation$140,385$139,002
Community and Economic Development$15,000$6,684
Capital Projects$47,526$108,023
Business Type / Enterprise$1.5M$1.2M

What it spent each year

FY24 left out6

$2.9M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Rockford owes

$620,000 at June 30, 2026: $818 per resident. 581st most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).7

$1.3M
$620,000
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$620,000$818
2025$1.1M$1,445
2024$1.2M$1,554
2023$1.3M$1,755
2022$657,773$868
2021$744,142$982
2020$723,550$955
2019$612,359$808
2018$746,733$985
2017$686,911$906
2016$744,934$983
2015$794,026$1,048
2014$843,348$1,113
2013$892,800$1,178
2012$0$0
2011$17,706$23
2010$24,224$32
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$620,000$818
2025$1.1M$1,445
2024$1.2M$1,554
2023$1.3M$1,755
2022$657,773$868
2021$744,142$982
2020$723,550$955
2019$612,359$808
2018$746,733$985
2017$686,911$906
2016$744,934$983
2015$794,026$1,048
2014$843,348$1,113
2013$892,800$1,178
2012$0$0
2011$17,706$23
2010$24,224$32

Up 2459% since 2010.

The 5% limit8

General obligation debt is $325,000, 15% of the limit of about $2.2M (5% of $43.1M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

2 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
General ObligationBridge/Water main/ Building repairs2032$325,000
Revenue BondsWater Tower Revenue Bond2043$295,000

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 balances9. Rockford’s latest audit has them: Annual Examination, period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF).

Audits10

The latest: Annual Examination for the period ending Monday, June 30, 2025 (PDF), released Thursday, October 16, 2025, by a CPA firm.

13 earlier reports for Rockford

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? 11

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: $111,075 in FY25, down 8% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 27% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$107,324$104,309$107,070$107,651
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)$5,479$4,794$2,054$3,424

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.

$775,067
  • State grants$762,27498%
  • CEBA grants$12,7932%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$7,543
FY20$10,712
FY21$13,345
FY22$9,607
FY23$68,080
FY24$41,277
FY25$775,067
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$7,543
FY20$10,712
FY21$13,345
FY22$9,607
FY23$68,080
FY24$41,277
FY25$775,067

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−23%$111,100 → $107,651, down 3% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 23% less
  • Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)−71%$9,530 → $3,424, down 64% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 71% 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 26% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 1% more.

$106,056
$96,489

Federal grants, for comparison: $61,454 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)12.

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

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Rockford; 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.

  • Rockford City Council At-Large (2 seats)
    Now held by Alexandra Seibert, Derek Johnson
  • Rockford Mayor
    Now held by Scott Johnson

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here13.

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 ballot14.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress15

Doug Campbell (Sen. 30)Jane Bloomingdale (Rep. 60)

U.S. House:District 2

Floyd CountyRudd-Rockford-Marble Rock schools