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Local taxes › Louisa County › Letts

City

Letts

Louisa County · How cities work

$2,700 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($32.04 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$920 a yearof that goes to the city ($10.91 per $1,000)
$102,210property taxes the city levies, FY27
$154,505city 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.

  • Jerry KirkLetts Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • Jim BarnesLetts City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Joseph Starkweather Jr.Letts City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Mason McCulleyLetts City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Bill KempLetts City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Dallas McManusLetts City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Jordon BrockertLetts 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 Letts

Homes and businesses in most of Letts pay a combined $32.04 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Louisa County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $10.91. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$32.59$12.38
FY21$31.90$11.89
FY22$31.62$11.89
FY23$31.55$11.64
FY24$31.23$11.40
FY25$31.99$11.39
FY26$32.27$11.20
FY27$32.04$10.91
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$32.59$12.38
FY21$31.90$11.89
FY22$31.62$11.89
FY23$31.55$11.64
FY24$31.23$11.40
FY25$31.99$11.39
FY26$32.27$11.20
FY27$32.04$10.91

Compared with places this size3

Letts’s city property tax rate of $10.91 per $1,000 is the 65th lowest of 200 Iowa cities with 240–530 people. The middle of the group is $12.66.

Stanhope: $29.10Rolfe: $22.67Fenton: $22.05Elliott: $21.61Charter Oak: $21.32Oxford Junction: $20.84Earling: $20.47Pomeroy: $19.60Fort Atkinson: $19.19Salem: $19.15Cumberland: $18.42Massena: $18.23Elma: $17.82Callender: $17.78Casey: $17.72Dows: $17.70Vail: $17.66Ringsted: $17.65Emerson: $17.54Thompson: $17.25Ashton: $17.17Pierson: $17.12Burt: $17.10Pisgah: $17.09Latimer: $16.96Lohrville: $16.95Lakota: $16.84Marble Rock: $16.78Auburn: $16.65Mccallsburg: $16.58Whittemore: $16.54Irwin: $16.46Titonka: $16.45Truro: $16.34Lewis: $16.25Corwith: $16.22Deep River: $16.18Duncombe: $16.10Bayard: $16.05Scranton: $16.01Granville: $16.00Minburn: $15.75Peterson: $15.27Russell: $15.18Zearing: $14.99Arlington: $14.98Riverton: $14.94Maynard: $14.85Plainfield: $14.84Ryan: $14.84Otho: $14.82Wyoming: $14.81Humeston: $14.80Gilmore City: $14.60Sabula: $14.38Garrison: $14.38Halbur: $14.37Lorimor: $14.36Crystal Lake: $14.36Collins: $14.32Kimballton: $14.27Ocheyedan: $14.22Steamboat Rock: $14.19Garwin: $14.08Farragut: $14.07Mystic: $14.01Lime Springs: $13.95Dow City: $13.94Wesley: $13.91Diagonal: $13.91Bussey: $13.83Mondamin: $13.82Livermore: $13.78Fertile: $13.70Stockport: $13.68Kellerton: $13.60Albion: $13.58Quimby: $13.58Lamont: $13.57New Albin: $13.55Persia: $13.41Lawler: $13.39Lacona: $13.38Leland: $13.31Ute: $13.26New Market: $13.25Plymouth: $13.21Harcourt: $13.21Bennett: $13.16Ridgeway: $13.10Farmersburg: $13.09Anthon: $13.05Little Rock: $13.03Lehigh: $12.97Menlo: $12.92Templeton: $12.91Silver City: $12.87Martelle: $12.83Malcom: $12.82Galva: $12.68Martensdale: $12.63Williams: $12.57Maurice: $12.56Norway: $12.53Clearfield: $12.50Kensett: $12.47Mccausland: $12.45Spillville: $12.40Modale: $12.34Mingo: $12.31Brandon: $12.29Blakesburg: $12.21Bonaparte: $12.17Macedonia: $12.12Hawkeye: $12.11Kiron: $12.03Colesburg: $11.97Liscomb: $11.96Thornton: $11.86Runnells: $11.79Allerton: $11.72Atalissa: $11.71Kelley: $11.69Orient: $11.66Ellsworth: $11.57Cincinnati: $11.57Delta: $11.52Terril: $11.48Westside: $11.45Holland: $11.37Churdan: $11.31Mallard: $11.28Miles: $11.28Milton: $10.98New Vienna: $10.91Goose Lake: $10.89Birmingham: $10.87Charlotte: $10.86Yale: $10.85Richland: $10.82Batavia: $10.77Hornick: $10.74Riverdale: $10.67Bode: $10.64Union: $10.58Calamus: $10.47Lovilia: $10.46Danbury: $10.43Lytton: $10.38Stacyville: $10.36Rhodes: $10.36Deloit: $10.28Protivin: $10.28Andrew: $10.22Royal: $10.20Bronson: $10.14Rudd: $10.13Defiance: $10.05Floyd: $10.02Cumming: $9.85Breda: $9.80Lynnville: $9.68Salix: $9.63Luxemburg: $9.58Farnhamville: $9.18Middletown: $9.16Alleman: $9.12Lester: $8.94Harvey: $8.71Ainsworth: $8.62Rowley: $8.31Gilman: $8.10Bertram: $8.10Grandview: $8.10Lost Nation: $8.10Low Moor: $8.10Nichols: $8.10Luana: $7.98Lockridge: $7.92Delhi: $7.81Klemme: $7.74Pulaski: $7.58Beacon: $7.56Sheldahl: $7.56Worthington: $7.50Harpers Ferry: $7.49Marquette: $7.08Columbus City: $6.94Donahue: $6.83Libertyville: $6.60Crawfordsville: $6.44New Virginia: $5.97Holy Cross: $5.91Conesville: $5.86University Park: $5.27Orleans: $4.13Maharishi Vedic City: $3.87Wahpeton: $3.19West Okoboji: $2.92Letts: $10.91$2.92 lowest$29.10 highestmiddle
See all 200
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Stanhope$29.10354
2Rolfe$22.67505
3Fenton$22.05250
4Elliott$21.61328
5Charter Oak$21.32521
6Oxford Junction$20.84424
7Earling$20.47394
8Pomeroy$19.60511
9Fort Atkinson$19.19300
10Salem$19.15380
11Cumberland$18.42248
12Massena$18.23352
13Elma$17.82493
14Callender$17.78361
15Casey$17.72387
16Dows$17.70509
17Vail$17.66383
18Ringsted$17.65346
19Emerson$17.54401
20Thompson$17.25478
21Ashton$17.17434
22Pierson$17.12335
23Burt$17.10404
24Pisgah$17.09248
25Latimer$16.96477
26Lohrville$16.95366
27Lakota$16.84261
28Marble Rock$16.78258
29Auburn$16.65253
30Mccallsburg$16.58356
31Whittemore$16.54478
32Irwin$16.46320
33Titonka$16.45491
34Truro$16.34515
35Lewis$16.25358
36Corwith$16.22259
37Deep River$16.18243
38Duncombe$16.10374
39Bayard$16.05402
40Scranton$16.01496
41Granville$16.00302
42Minburn$15.75317
43Peterson$15.27321
44Russell$15.18475
45Zearing$14.99508
46Arlington$14.98415
47Riverton$14.94243
48Maynard$14.85466
49Plainfield$14.84392
50Ryan$14.84348
51Otho$14.82417
52Wyoming$14.81526
53Humeston$14.80472
54Gilmore City$14.60484
55Sabula$14.38498
56Garrison$14.38345
57Halbur$14.37268
58Lorimor$14.36377
59Crystal Lake$14.36243
60Collins$14.32503
61Kimballton$14.27281
62Ocheyedan$14.22424
63Steamboat Rock$14.19261
64Garwin$14.08469
65Farragut$14.07480
66Mystic$14.01318
67Lime Springs$13.95467
68Dow City$13.94477
69Wesley$13.91382
70Diagonal$13.91331
71Bussey$13.83378
72Mondamin$13.82335
73Livermore$13.78382
74Fertile$13.70300
75Stockport$13.68272
76Kellerton$13.60241
77Albion$13.58444
78Quimby$13.58245
79Lamont$13.57429
80New Albin$13.55435
81Persia$13.41292
82Lawler$13.39392
83Lacona$13.38336
84Leland$13.31240
85Ute$13.26326
86New Market$13.25381
87Plymouth$13.21368
88Harcourt$13.21257
89Bennett$13.16330
90Ridgeway$13.10261
91Farmersburg$13.09264
92Anthon$13.05534
93Little Rock$13.03447
94Lehigh$12.97395
95Menlo$12.92347
96Templeton$12.91337
97Silver City$12.87244
98Martelle$12.83250
99Malcom$12.82257
100Galva$12.68416
101Martensdale$12.63413
102Williams$12.57299
103Maurice$12.56271
104Norway$12.53463
105Clearfield$12.50277
106Kensett$12.47256
107Mccausland$12.45314
108Spillville$12.40371
109Modale$12.34284
110Mingo$12.31314
111Brandon$12.29331
112Blakesburg$12.21273
113Bonaparte$12.17357
114Macedonia$12.12266
115Hawkeye$12.11429
116Kiron$12.03262
117Colesburg$11.97379
118Liscomb$11.96292
119Thornton$11.86394
120Runnells$11.79467
121Allerton$11.72432
122Atalissa$11.71287
123Kelley$11.69312
124Orient$11.66363
125Ellsworth$11.57495
126Cincinnati$11.57280
127Delta$11.52257
128Terril$11.48310
129Westside$11.45283
130Holland$11.37261
131Churdan$11.31359
132Mallard$11.28255
133Miles$11.28400
134Milton$10.98395
135New Vienna$10.91384
136Letts$10.91358
137Goose Lake$10.89250
138Birmingham$10.87371
139Charlotte$10.86386
140Yale$10.85265
141Richland$10.82532
142Batavia$10.77434
143Hornick$10.74255
144Riverdale$10.67385
145Bode$10.64304
146Union$10.58378
147Calamus$10.47348
148Lovilia$10.46456
149Danbury$10.43315
150Lytton$10.38274
151Stacyville$10.36436
152Rhodes$10.36269
153Deloit$10.28246
154Protivin$10.28264
155Andrew$10.22374
156Royal$10.20379
157Bronson$10.14294
158Rudd$10.13339
159Defiance$10.05248
160Floyd$10.02297
161Cumming$9.85527
162Breda$9.80492
163Lynnville$9.68382
164Salix$9.63303
165Luxemburg$9.58240
166Farnhamville$9.18364
167Middletown$9.16365
168Alleman$9.12439
169Lester$8.94309
170Harvey$8.71242
171Ainsworth$8.62511
172Rowley$8.31264
173Gilman$8.10530
174Bertram$8.10267
175Grandview$8.10431
176Lost Nation$8.10425
177Low Moor$8.10242
178Nichols$8.10317
179Luana$7.98303
180Lockridge$7.92245
181Delhi$7.81438
182Klemme$7.74429
183Pulaski$7.58259
184Beacon$7.56434
185Sheldahl$7.56312
186Worthington$7.50374
187Harpers Ferry$7.49273
188Marquette$7.08434
189Columbus City$6.94385
190Donahue$6.83336
191Libertyville$6.60278
192Crawfordsville$6.44278
193New Virginia$5.97499
194Holy Cross$5.91348
195Conesville$5.86350
196University Park$5.27476
197Orleans$4.13503
198Maharishi Vedic City$3.87290
199Wahpeton$3.19337
200West Okoboji$2.92311

The $8.10 limit

Letts’s general levy is $7.95 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.15 below the limit.4 470 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.21 · FY26 $8.11 · FY27 $7.95 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $2.96 more5

  • Debt Service Levy$2.96 · $27,453

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$73,82773%
  • Debt Service Levy$27,45327%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Letts’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 30¢ of every dollar30¢General Government: 20¢ of every dollar20¢Public Works: 19¢ of every dollar19¢Debt Service: 12¢ of every dollar12¢Public Safety: 8¢ of every dollar8¢Everything else: 11¢ of every dollar11¢

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 198 Iowa cities closest in size (240–530 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (198)
Business Type / Enterprise30¢39¢
General Government20¢16¢
Public Works19¢19¢
Debt Service12¢3¢
Public Safety8¢9¢
Everything else11¢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.

  • General Government$46,95030%
  • Public Works$38,75025%
  • Debt Service$27,87218%
  • Public Safety$18,78312%
  • Culture and Recreation$13,4009%
  • Community and Economic Development$8,7506%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($69,750 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$52,250$39,785
Public Safety$15,364$15,182
Health and Social Services$0$0
General Government$41,350$46,134
Debt Service$30,355$28,236
Culture and Recreation$18,009$52,580
Community and Economic Development$9,000$9,326
Capital Projects$0$0
Business Type / Enterprise$0$94,448

What it spent each year

FY24 left out6

$297,283
$272,734

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Letts owes

$475,368 at June 30, 2026: $1,310 per resident. 492nd most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).7

$958,331
$475,368
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$475,368$1,310
2025$534,604$1,473
2024$592,841$1,633
2023$648,948$1,788
2022$706,949$1,948
2021$751,949$2,071
2020$800,949$2,206
2019$844,025$2,325
2018$881,033$2,427
2017$954,331$2,629
2016$958,331$2,640
2015$0$0
2014$0$0
2013$0$0
2012$0$0
2011$0$0
2010$0$0
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$475,368$1,310
2025$534,604$1,473
2024$592,841$1,633
2023$648,948$1,788
2022$706,949$1,948
2021$751,949$2,071
2020$800,949$2,206
2019$844,025$2,325
2018$881,033$2,427
2017$954,331$2,629
2016$958,331$2,640
2015$0$0
2014$0$0
2013$0$0
2012$0$0
2011$0$0
2010$0$0

Down 50% since 2016.

The 5% limit8

General obligation debt is $169,368, 18% of the limit of about $945,091 (5% of $18.9M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

2 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
Revenue BondsSRF loan to update sewer system.2035$306,000
General ObligationBuilding payment and remaining revenue bond2035$169,368

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. Letts’s latest audit has them: Periodic Examination Follow-Up, period ending Friday, August 31, 2018 (PDF).

Audits10

The latest: Periodic Examination Follow-Up for the period ending Friday, August 31, 2018 (PDF), released Wednesday, January 16, 2019, by a CPA firm.

1 earlier report for Letts

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: $40,653 in FY25, up 25% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 1% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$32,241$34,250$34,731$40,653

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−1%$32,572 → $40,653, up 25% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 1% 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 23% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 2% less.

$32,500
$30,226

Federal grants, for comparison: $3,000 in FY22.

Business awards

Every award statewide

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)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 · 3

2 seats: the top 2 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Letts; 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.

  • Letts City Council At-Large (3 seats)
    Now held by Jordon Brockert, Dallas McManus, Bill Kemp

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

Mark S. Lofgren (Sen. 48)Taylor R. Collins (Rep. 95)

U.S. House:District 1

Louisa CountyLouisa-Muscatine schools