City

Hamilton

$2,190 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($26.03 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$790 a yearof that goes to the city ($9.35 per $1,000)

$31,292property taxes the city levies, FY27

$107,150city budget, all funds, FY27²

Who runs it

The city council passes ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the city’s property tax.

Amber DykstraHamilton City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
John DavisHamilton City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Justin PinegarHamilton Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Stormie De ShawHamilton City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025

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 Hamilton

Homes and businesses in most of Hamilton pay a combined $26.03 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Marion County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $9.35. Estimate your bill.

Twin Cedars schools$9.8938%
City of Hamilton$9.3536%
Marion County$5.5721%
Des Moines Area Community College$0.813%
Marion County Assessor$0.261%
Marion County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.15<1%

Rates over time

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

CombinedCity’s own

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$29.25	$8.32
FY21	$29.63	$8.91
FY22	$30.62	$9.01
FY23	$29.76	$9.17
FY24	$27.02	$9.31
FY25	$27.08	$9.67
FY26	$27.97	$9.77
FY27	$26.03	$9.35

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$29.25	$8.32
FY21	$29.63	$8.91
FY22	$30.62	$9.01
FY23	$29.76	$9.17
FY24	$27.02	$9.31
FY25	$27.08	$9.67
FY26	$27.97	$9.77
FY27	$26.03	$9.35

Compared with places this size³

Hamilton’s city property tax rate of $9.35 per $1,000 is the 62nd lowest of 157 Iowa cities with 80–190 people. The middle of the group is $10.35.

See all 157

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Castana	$34.13	103
2	Brayton	$25.07	138
3	Hansell	$23.66	85
4	Harris	$23.13	145
5	Whitten	$22.65	98
6	Soldier	$21.92	176
7	Smithland	$21.12	184
8	Stanley	$20.69	86
9	Coin	$19.59	171
10	Rowan	$19.53	118
11	Chester	$19.30	134
12	Bouton	$19.25	125
13	Ricketts	$19.22	105
14	Garden Grove	$19.20	173
15	Hastings	$18.95	157
16	Swaledale	$18.62	136
17	Derby	$18.13	89
18	Hillsboro	$17.68	158
19	Bristow	$17.39	139
20	Woolstock	$17.26	141
21	Prescott	$16.53	186
22	Monmouth	$16.41	129
23	Blockton	$16.37	123
24	Geneva	$16.25	137
25	Waterville	$16.25	112
26	Little Sioux	$15.74	170
27	Moorhead	$15.68	186
28	Woodburn	$15.59	133
29	Kamrar	$15.47	178
30	Goodell	$15.16	139
31	Marne	$15.03	109
32	Baldwin	$14.91	99
33	Davis City	$14.45	178
34	Lucas	$14.40	176
35	Palmer	$13.89	137
36	Ayrshire	$13.55	128
37	Searsboro	$13.55	129
38	Ferguson	$13.53	98
39	Lanesboro	$13.53	112
40	Calumet	$13.16	144
41	Portsmouth	$13.05	187
42	Delaware	$12.86	139
43	Patterson	$12.84	176
44	Clemons	$12.69	135
45	Cylinder	$12.52	84
46	Millersburg	$12.40	135
47	Aurora	$12.40	165
48	Bridgewater	$12.29	145
49	Arion	$12.14	99
50	Webb	$12.10	139
51	Decatur	$12.08	174
52	Shambaugh	$11.98	161
53	Lone Rock	$11.92	143
54	East Peru	$11.89	119
55	Henderson	$11.85	140
56	Reasnor	$11.76	157
57	Morley	$11.74	94
58	Ledyard	$11.74	118
59	Toronto	$11.68	101
60	Exline	$11.60	157
61	Beaman	$11.54	155
62	College Springs	$11.44	172
63	Melrose	$11.27	110
64	Linn Grove	$11.15	155
65	Promise City	$11.13	91
66	Randolph	$11.08	183
67	Leighton	$11.07	153
68	Rake	$11.05	179
69	Masonville	$11.00	98
70	Somers	$10.99	121
71	Havelock	$10.95	127
72	Alexander	$10.90	165
73	Lambs Grove	$10.78	174
74	Wallingford	$10.75	154
75	Woden	$10.68	183
76	Pacific Junction	$10.56	99
77	Barnes City	$10.44	152
78	Stockton	$10.37	171
79	Randall	$10.35	156
80	Meriden	$10.28	175
81	Drakesville	$10.24	170
82	North Washington	$10.23	107
83	Dawson	$10.19	110
84	Barnum	$9.96	186
85	Hartwick	$9.90	91
86	Clare	$9.81	133
87	Tingley	$9.81	146
88	Rutland	$9.65	116
89	Van Wert	$9.62	175
90	Rock Falls	$9.61	143
91	Kirkville	$9.59	159
92	Superior	$9.58	127
93	Webster	$9.55	94
94	Martinsburg	$9.49	109
95	Larrabee	$9.41	116
96	Hamilton	$9.35	125
97	Wiota	$9.32	91
98	Floris	$9.29	119
99	Mitchell	$9.22	118
100	Westphalia	$9.18	133
101	Elberon	$9.16	178
102	Blairsburg	$8.93	175
103	Prairieburg	$8.91	156
104	Welton	$8.86	124
105	Archer	$8.84	116
106	Luther	$8.83	147
107	Fraser	$8.81	107
108	Macksburg	$8.81	103
109	Moorland	$8.61	169
110	Pilot Mound	$8.54	155
111	Thor	$8.38	182
112	Andover	$8.28	106
113	Thurman	$8.26	162
114	Boxholm	$8.11	177
115	Rome	$8.10	112
116	Carpenter	$8.10	92
117	Westfield	$8.10	121
118	Vincent	$8.09	125
119	Morrison	$7.86	101
120	Mount Auburn	$7.86	162
121	Haverhill	$7.86	164
122	Oyens	$7.86	88
123	Olds	$7.86	174
124	Dickens	$7.86	146
125	Castalia	$7.86	141
126	Rose Hill	$7.86	156
127	West Chester	$7.82	147
128	Cromwell	$7.81	104
129	Mcclelland	$7.79	147
130	Arispe	$7.71	95
131	Luzerne	$7.69	111
132	Lidderdale	$7.68	162
133	Westwood	$7.67	96
134	Bernard	$7.56	117
135	Braddyville	$7.49	142
136	Franklin	$7.31	133
137	Spragueville	$7.20	92
138	Weldon	$7.18	134
139	Brunsville	$6.95	128
140	Zwingle	$6.93	86
141	Packwood	$6.77	186
142	Houghton	$6.73	129
143	Williamson	$6.72	126
144	Lincoln	$6.32	119
145	Gravity	$6.18	149
146	Ackworth	$5.90	117
147	Oakland Acres	$5.88	178
148	Springbrook	$5.79	145
149	Maysville	$5.77	155
150	Harper	$5.29	117
151	Panorama Park	$4.62	142
152	Keomah Village	$3.15	107
153	Mcintire	$2.78	115
154	Sherrill	$2.66	176
155	Centralia	$2.41	117
156	New Liberty	$2.27	141
157	North Buena Vista	$1.78	107

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$26,36884%
Liability, property & self insurance costs$3,93913%
Total Employee Benefit Levies$9853%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Hamilton’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 157 Iowa cities closest in size (80–190 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (157)
General Government	46¢	24¢
Public Works	36¢	27¢
Culture and Recreation	17¢	8¢
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.

Culture and Recreation$40,00037%
General Government$36,35034%
Public Works$29,00027%
Public Safety$1,8002%

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$23,000	$10,282
Public Safety	$890	$0
Health and Social Services	$0	$0
General Government	$15,575	$12,691
Debt Service	$0	$0
Culture and Recreation	$4,500	$10,960
Community and Economic Development	$5,000	$0
Capital Projects	$0	$0
Business Type / Enterprise	$0	$0

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁴

$51,349

$50,828

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’25

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 every year

Road Use Tax for streets, the commercial and industrial tax “backfill”, and ambulance reimbursement, paid every year by formula: $10,814 in FY25, down 59% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 68% less. Grants are below.

In today's dollarsActual dollars

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$10,307	$10,470	$10,755	$10,812
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)	$4	–	$2	$2

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−9%$9,466 → $10,812, up 14% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 9% less
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)−100%$17,184 → $2, down 100% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 100% 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 50% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 19% more.

$18,356

$16,524

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

City · 2

Hamilton City Council At-Large

3 seats: the top 3 win.

John Davis Winner933.3%
Amber Dykstra Winner933.3%
Stormie De Shaw Winner933.3%

Hamilton Mayor

Justin Pinegar Unopposed9100.0%

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Hamilton; official results are on each county auditor’s site.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁶

Ken Rozenboom (Sen. 19)Barb Kniff McCulla (Rep. 37)

U.S. House:District 1

Marion County Twin Cedars 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. ↩
The state’s FY24 spending file repeats the year before for nearly every Iowa city, so that year isn’t shown. ↩
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. ↩
Legislative and congressional districts that cover Hamilton; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Hamilton 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.