Who runs it
The city council passes ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the city’s property tax.
- Ashley AllersWebster City City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- John HawkinsWebster City City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- John MarvelWebster City City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- Abigail HansenWebster City City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
- Megan McFarlandWebster City City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
- Carol YandaWebster City Kendall Young Library Trustee 2027 · elected November 4, 2025
- Todd SteenWebster City Fuller Hall Trustee 2026 · elected November 4, 2025
- Valerie GrimsleyWebster City Kendall Young Library Trustee 2026 · elected November 4, 2025
- Andy HejlikWebster City Fred M Fuller Board of Trustees · elected November 7, 2023
- Ann E. KnessWebster City Fred M Fuller Board of Trustees · elected November 7, 2023
- Diane BahrenfussWebster City Kendall Young Library Trustee 2024 · elected November 7, 2023
- Gayette GrimmWebster City Kendall Young Library Trustee 2025 · elected November 7, 2023
- Nikki EhnWebster City Kendall Young Library Trustee 2025 · 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 Webster City
Homes and businesses in most of Webster City pay a combined $39.65 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Hamilton County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $16.51. Estimate your bill.
- City of Webster City$16.5142%
- Webster City schools$12.7432%
- Hamilton County$6.0315%
- Hamilton County Hospital$1.905%
- Iowa Central Community College$1.574%
- Hamilton County Assessor$0.672%
- Hamilton County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.21<1%
Rates over time
Per $1,000 of taxable value: the typical combined rate people in Webster City pay, and the city government’s own piece of it.
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $39.21 | $16.24 |
| FY21 | $39.67 | $16.24 |
| FY22 | $40.14 | $16.24 |
| FY23 | $41.56 | $17.67 |
| FY24 | $43.41 | $19.75 |
| FY25 | $41.80 | $18.10 |
| FY26 | $40.93 | $17.21 |
| FY27 | $39.65 | $16.51 |
Show the numbers
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $39.21 | $16.24 |
| FY21 | $39.67 | $16.24 |
| FY22 | $40.14 | $16.24 |
| FY23 | $41.56 | $17.67 |
| FY24 | $43.41 | $19.75 |
| FY25 | $41.80 | $18.10 |
| FY26 | $40.93 | $17.21 |
| FY27 | $39.65 | $16.51 |
Compared with places this size3
Webster City’s city property tax rate of $16.51 per $1,000 is the 15th highest of 49 Iowa cities with 5,200–12,000 people. The middle of the group is $14.99.
See all 49
| # | Place | Rate per $1,000 | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Oak | $20.65 | 5,420 |
| 2 | Oelwein | $20.16 | 5,788 |
| 3 | Keokuk | $19.68 | 9,462 |
| 4 | Independence | $19.01 | 6,266 |
| 5 | Fort Madison | $18.84 | 9,983 |
| 6 | Denison | $18.69 | 8,302 |
| 7 | Perry | $17.91 | 8,046 |
| 8 | Waverly | $17.53 | 10,576 |
| 9 | Atlantic | $17.48 | 6,717 |
| 10 | Knoxville | $17.46 | 7,440 |
| 11 | Clarinda | $17.25 | 5,334 |
| 12 | Centerville | $16.85 | 5,345 |
| 13 | Algona | $16.75 | 5,341 |
| 14 | Fairfield | $16.69 | 9,511 |
| 15 | Webster City | $16.51 | 7,763 |
| 16 | Winterset | $16.15 | 5,421 |
| 17 | Anamosa | $15.95 | 5,845 |
| 18 | Charles City | $15.95 | 7,081 |
| 19 | Grinnell | $15.60 | 9,495 |
| 20 | Decorah | $15.52 | 7,454 |
| 21 | Sheldon | $15.33 | 5,584 |
| 22 | Estherville | $15.27 | 5,796 |
| 23 | Washington | $15.21 | 7,281 |
| 24 | Storm Lake | $15.17 | 11,627 |
| 25 | Creston | $14.99 | 7,421 |
| 26 | Manchester | $14.96 | 5,283 |
| 27 | Cherokee | $14.82 | 5,186 |
| 28 | Glenwood | $14.77 | 5,250 |
| 29 | Nevada | $14.58 | 7,082 |
| 30 | Oskaloosa | $14.47 | 11,575 |
| 31 | Osceola | $14.37 | 5,585 |
| 32 | Orange City | $14.01 | 6,547 |
| 33 | Spencer | $13.84 | 11,418 |
| 34 | Hiawatha | $13.78 | 7,347 |
| 35 | Sergeant Bluff | $13.70 | 5,335 |
| 36 | Adel | $13.43 | 6,763 |
| 37 | Maquoketa | $12.85 | 6,064 |
| 38 | Mount Pleasant | $11.94 | 8,509 |
| 39 | Tiffin | $11.80 | 6,695 |
| 40 | Carroll | $11.25 | 10,125 |
| 41 | Le Mars | $11.18 | 10,674 |
| 42 | Sioux Center | $11.05 | 8,675 |
| 43 | Polk City | $11.00 | 6,430 |
| 44 | Bondurant | $10.82 | 9,511 |
| 45 | Pella | $10.75 | 10,965 |
| 46 | Spirit Lake | $10.17 | 5,548 |
| 47 | Clear Lake | $9.85 | 7,602 |
| 48 | Asbury | $8.32 | 6,051 |
| 49 | Eldridge | $8.13 | 6,967 |
The $8.10 limit
Webster City’s general levy is $8.10 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, at the limit.4 247 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.
FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.34 · FY26 $8.10 · FY27 $8.10 (before FY25, the general levy alone)
Outside the limit: $8.41 more5
- Total Employee Benefit Levies$4.11 · $1.2M
- Debt Service Levy$3.72 · $1.1M
- Liability, property & self insurance costs$0.48 · $136,576
- Aviation Authority$0.05 · $14,848
- Opr & Maint publicly owned Transit$0.05 · $13,381
Tax increment financing (TIF)
$15.4M of taxable value in Webster City is in TIF districts’ increment (5% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.6 It budgeted $366,444 in TIF revenue for FY25.
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 $197,626 of the city’s own.
| Year | TIF revenue |
|---|---|
| FY16 | $221,249 |
| FY17 | $213,657 |
| FY18 | $276,998 |
| FY19 | $236,318 |
| FY20 | $219,020 |
| FY21 | $232,424 |
| FY22 | $309,133 |
| FY23 | $317,732 |
Show the numbers
| Year | TIF revenue |
|---|---|
| FY16 | $221,249 |
| FY17 | $213,657 |
| FY18 | $276,998 |
| FY19 | $236,318 |
| FY20 | $219,020 |
| FY21 | $232,424 |
| FY22 | $309,133 |
| FY23 | $317,732 |
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.
Budget and spending
Where each dollar of Webster City’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 48 Iowa cities closest in size (5,200–12,000 people).
| Where it goes | Of each dollar | Cities this size (48) |
|---|---|---|
| Business Type / Enterprise | 56¢ | 37¢ |
| Capital Projects | 15¢ | 20¢ |
| Public Safety | 11¢ | 13¢ |
| Public Works | 5¢ | 8¢ |
| Debt Service | 4¢ | 7¢ |
| Everything else | 9¢ | 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.
The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($19.9M in FY26), so this total is low.
Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
| Function | Budget | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| Public Works | $1.8M | $1.8M |
| Public Safety | $3.0M | $2.9M |
| Health and Social Services | $48,274 | $13,874 |
| General Government | $428,990 | $316,652 |
| Debt Service | $1.2M | $1.2M |
| Culture and Recreation | $1.3M | $1.6M |
| Community and Economic Development | $666,348 | $517,398 |
| Capital Projects | $2.1M | $1.7M |
| Business Type / Enterprise | $47.3M | $17.9M |
What it spent each year
FY24 left out8
Debt, reserves and audits
How local debt works · What an audit tells you
What Webster City owes
$42.0M at June 30, 2026: $5,364 per resident. 103rd most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).9
| June 30 | Owed | Per resident |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $42.0M | $5,364 |
| 2025 | $41.7M | $5,324 |
| 2024 | $44.0M | $5,627 |
| 2023 | $32.5M | $4,155 |
| 2022 | $35.5M | $4,535 |
| 2021 | $37.5M | $4,789 |
| 2020 | $30.9M | $3,953 |
| 2019 | $26.8M | $3,420 |
| 2018 | $27.8M | $3,550 |
| 2017 | $25.4M | $3,246 |
| 2016 | $25.8M | $3,300 |
| 2015 | $22.6M | $2,889 |
| 2014 | $25.5M | $3,258 |
| 2013 | $26.9M | $3,441 |
| 2012 | $27.9M | $3,566 |
| 2011 | $11.0M | $1,403 |
| 2010 | $11.0M | $1,407 |
Show the numbers
| June 30 | Owed | Per resident |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $42.0M | $5,364 |
| 2025 | $41.7M | $5,324 |
| 2024 | $44.0M | $5,627 |
| 2023 | $32.5M | $4,155 |
| 2022 | $35.5M | $4,535 |
| 2021 | $37.5M | $4,789 |
| 2020 | $30.9M | $3,953 |
| 2019 | $26.8M | $3,420 |
| 2018 | $27.8M | $3,550 |
| 2017 | $25.4M | $3,246 |
| 2016 | $25.8M | $3,300 |
| 2015 | $22.6M | $2,889 |
| 2014 | $25.5M | $3,258 |
| 2013 | $26.9M | $3,441 |
| 2012 | $27.9M | $3,566 |
| 2011 | $11.0M | $1,403 |
| 2010 | $11.0M | $1,407 |
Up 281% since 2010.
The 5% limit10
General obligation debt is $11.1M, 42% of the limit of about $26.7M (5% of $534.4M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).
11 obligations at June 30, 2026
| Kind | For | Paid off by | Owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Bonds | This is a refinancing revenue bond for constructing transmission and generation improvements for the municipal electric department. | 2036 | $9.4M |
| Revenue Bonds | Electric Distribution Projects & portion of AMI meters. | 2044 | $8.2M |
| General Obligation | GO Bond to refund 2020A Road Use Revenue Bond, pay for 2020 & 2021 2nd Street Projects, Trails, Police Radios, Parking Lots | 2040 | $7.5M |
| Revenue Bonds | Water portion of street projects, water distribution project, clarifier, water plant improvements and a few other water projects | 2044 | $4.8M |
| Revenue Bonds | Water Revenue Bond Refunded 2012A Water Bond and used for Water Distribution Projects & portion of Street Bldg housing water distribution items | 2041 | $4.0M |
| Loans | An internal loan between funds. Electric Utility loaned Brewer Creek Estates money to construct a housing development | 2028 | $2.4M |
| General Obligation | HVAC replacement at the Municipal Building & Phase 1 of the Fair Meadow Drive Street Project | 2042 | $2.3M |
| Revenue Bonds | This loan is to pay for improvements to our recreation building | 2041 | $1.4M |
| General Obligation | Street Reconstruction, Sidewalk/Trail Construction, Storm Sewer Utility Relocation | 2029 | $1.2M |
| Loans | An internal loan between funds. Electric Utility loaned Sewer Utility money for the sewer portion of the 2020 2nd Street Reconstruction Project. | 2031 | $511,401 |
| Revenue Bonds | USDA Pass through loan from their REDLG program. Money went to Mary Ann's Specialty Foods who is reimbursing the City for the payments each month | 2027 | $142,857 |
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. Webster City’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 Tuesday, March 31, 2026, by a CPA firm.
5 earlier reports for Webster City
- Financial Statement, period ending Sunday, June 30, 2024Tuesday, February 11, 2025
- Financial Statement, period ending Friday, June 30, 2023Friday, March 29, 2024
- Financial Statement, period ending Thursday, June 30, 2022Wednesday, February 1, 2023
- Financial Statement, period ending Wednesday, June 30, 2021Thursday, March 3, 2022
- Financial Statement, period ending Tuesday, June 30, 2020Thursday, February 4, 2021
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: $1.4M in FY25, up 18% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 6% less. Grants are below.
Show the numbers
| Source | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road Use Tax (streets) | $1.0M | $1.1M | $1.1M | $1.1M |
| Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”) | $105,359 | $92,252 | $282,798 | $269,187 |
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 | $2,590 |
| FY20 | $0 |
| FY21 | $10,613 |
| FY22 | $26,140 |
| FY23 | $66,535 |
| FY24 | $43,455 |
| FY25 | $155,663 |
Show the numbers
| Year | Grants and projects |
|---|---|
| FY19 | $2,590 |
| FY20 | $0 |
| FY21 | $10,613 |
| FY22 | $26,140 |
| FY23 | $66,535 |
| FY24 | $43,455 |
| FY25 | $155,663 |
Has it kept up with prices?
Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.
- Road Use Tax (streets)−16%$1.0M → $1.1M, up 6% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 16% less
- Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)+84%$116,822 → $269,187, up 130% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 84% 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 40% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 12% more.
Federal grants, for comparison: $143,966 in FY25.
Business awards
State economic development awards
Community college new jobs training: 2 contracts since 2004 worth $845K, for 134 pledged jobs.
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 · 5
3 seats: the top 3 win.
- John Marvel Winner88230.2%
- Ashley Allers Winner76026.1%
- John Hawkins Winner73425.1%
- Tyler Moen 54218.6%
- Todd Steen Unopposed975100.0%
- Valerie Grimsley Unopposed914100.0%
- Carol Yanda Unopposed1,031100.0%
Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Webster City; 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.
- Webster City City Council At-Large (2 seats)Now held by Abigail Hansen, Megan McFarland
- Webster City Fred M Fuller Board of Trustees (5 seats)Now held by Ann E. Kness, Andy Hejlik, Diane Bahrenfuss, Nikki Ehn, Gayette Grimm
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
Dennis Guth (Sen. 28)Shannon Latham (Rep. 55)
U.S. House:District 4