Who runs it
The city council passes ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the city’s property tax.
- Eric SchnedlerTiffin City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- Tim KasparekTiffin Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
- Tim OrrisTiffin City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- Tony JohnsonTiffin City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
- Chris OlneyTiffin City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
- Skylar LimkemannTiffin 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 Tiffin
Homes and businesses in most of Tiffin pay a combined $36.88 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Johnson County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $11.80. Estimate your bill.
- Clear Creek Amana schools$16.9246%
- City of Tiffin$11.8032%
- Johnson County$6.2417%
- Kirkwood Community College$1.434%
- Johnson County Assessor$0.32<1%
- Clear Creek-Tiffin Cemetery$0.10<1%
- Johnson County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.07<1%
Rates over time
Per $1,000 of taxable value: the typical combined rate people in Tiffin pay, and the city government’s own piece of it.
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $36.54 | $11.81 |
| FY21 | $36.94 | $11.81 |
| FY22 | $36.81 | $11.81 |
| FY23 | $36.70 | $11.81 |
| FY24 | $36.74 | $11.81 |
| FY25 | $37.05 | $11.81 |
| FY26 | $37.37 | $11.80 |
| FY27 | $36.88 | $11.80 |
Show the numbers
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $36.54 | $11.81 |
| FY21 | $36.94 | $11.81 |
| FY22 | $36.81 | $11.81 |
| FY23 | $36.70 | $11.81 |
| FY24 | $36.74 | $11.81 |
| FY25 | $37.05 | $11.81 |
| FY26 | $37.37 | $11.80 |
| FY27 | $36.88 | $11.80 |
Compared with places this size3
Tiffin’s city property tax rate of $11.80 per $1,000 is the 11th lowest of 54 Iowa cities with 4,500–10,000 people. The middle of the group is $15.00.
See all 54
| # | 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 | Iowa Falls | $18.86 | 4,993 |
| 6 | Fort Madison | $18.84 | 9,983 |
| 7 | Denison | $18.69 | 8,302 |
| 8 | Perry | $17.91 | 8,046 |
| 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 | Vinton | $16.25 | 4,962 |
| 17 | Winterset | $16.15 | 5,421 |
| 18 | Humboldt | $16.00 | 4,774 |
| 19 | Anamosa | $15.95 | 5,845 |
| 20 | Charles City | $15.95 | 7,081 |
| 21 | Grinnell | $15.60 | 9,495 |
| 22 | Decorah | $15.52 | 7,454 |
| 23 | Sheldon | $15.33 | 5,584 |
| 24 | Estherville | $15.27 | 5,796 |
| 25 | Washington | $15.21 | 7,281 |
| 26 | Harlan | $15.07 | 4,898 |
| 27 | Shenandoah | $15.02 | 4,878 |
| 28 | Creston | $14.99 | 7,421 |
| 29 | Manchester | $14.96 | 5,283 |
| 30 | Cherokee | $14.82 | 5,186 |
| 31 | Glenwood | $14.77 | 5,250 |
| 32 | Nevada | $14.58 | 7,082 |
| 33 | Osceola | $14.37 | 5,585 |
| 34 | Windsor Heights | $14.30 | 5,106 |
| 35 | Orange City | $14.01 | 6,547 |
| 36 | Hiawatha | $13.78 | 7,347 |
| 37 | Sergeant Bluff | $13.70 | 5,335 |
| 38 | Mount Vernon | $13.50 | 4,518 |
| 39 | Adel | $13.43 | 6,763 |
| 40 | Maquoketa | $12.85 | 6,064 |
| 41 | Camanche | $12.75 | 4,536 |
| 42 | Le Claire | $12.64 | 4,776 |
| 43 | Mount Pleasant | $11.94 | 8,509 |
| 44 | Tiffin | $11.80 | 6,695 |
| 45 | Huxley | $11.68 | 4,737 |
| 46 | Sioux Center | $11.05 | 8,675 |
| 47 | Polk City | $11.00 | 6,430 |
| 48 | Bondurant | $10.82 | 9,511 |
| 49 | Dyersville | $10.27 | 4,559 |
| 50 | Spirit Lake | $10.17 | 5,548 |
| 51 | Clear Lake | $9.85 | 7,602 |
| 52 | Asbury | $8.32 | 6,051 |
| 53 | Eldridge | $8.13 | 6,967 |
| 54 | Evansdale | $8.00 | 4,515 |
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 Tiffin’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 53 Iowa cities closest in size (4,500–10,000 people).
| Where it goes | Of each dollar | Cities this size (53) |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Projects | 43¢ | 21¢ |
| Business Type / Enterprise | 31¢ | 35¢ |
| Debt Service | 9¢ | 7¢ |
| Public Safety | 5¢ | 13¢ |
| Community and Economic Development | 3¢ | 3¢ |
| Everything else | 8¢ | 20¢ |
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 ($11.7M in FY26), so this total is low.
Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
| Function | Budget | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| Public Works | $508,021 | $574,221 |
| Public Safety | $852,384 | $1.1M |
| Health and Social Services | $0 | $0 |
| General Government | $544,689 | $687,733 |
| Debt Service | $2.2M | $2.2M |
| Culture and Recreation | $440,653 | $632,660 |
| Community and Economic Development | $132,916 | $121,360 |
| Capital Projects | $1.9M | $3.5M |
| Business Type / Enterprise | $3.0M | $3.5M |
What it spent each year
FY24 left out4
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? 5
What the state pays the city
$676,477 in FY25: down 10% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 28% less. Road Use Tax, the money for streets the state sends every year by formula, is up 155% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 103% more; grants come and go.
| Source | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road Use Tax (streets) | $559,756 | $620,902 | $637,332 | $640,791 |
| State grants | $138,421 | $89,481 | $50,000 | $9,753 |
| Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”) | $37,048 | $29,638 | $11,114 | $25,933 |
| Other state money | – | – | – | – |
Show the numbers
| Source | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road Use Tax (streets) | $559,756 | $620,902 | $637,332 | $640,791 |
| State grants | $138,421 | $89,481 | $50,000 | $9,753 |
| Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”) | $37,048 | $29,638 | $11,114 | $25,933 |
| Other state money | – | – | – | – |
Has it kept up with prices?
Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.
- Road Use Tax (streets)+103%$251,525 → $640,791, up 155% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 103% more
- State grants−98%$480,532 → $9,753, down 98% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 98% 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 176% since FY24 while prices rose 3%, so it buys 169% more.
Federal grants, for comparison: $132,356 in FY25.
Elections
Most recent: November 4, 2025
City · 2
3 seats: the top 3 win.
- Tim Orris Winner30429.2%
- Eric Schnedler Winner28827.7%
- Tony Johnson Winner24623.6%
- Al Havens 20319.5%
- Tim Kasparek Unopposed399100.0%
Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Tiffin; official results are on each county auditor’s site.