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Local taxes › Marion County › Knoxville

City

Knoxville

Marion County · How cities work

$3,440 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($40.87 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$1,470 a yearof that goes to the city ($17.46 per $1,000)
$5.1Mproperty taxes the city levies, FY27
$25.7Mcity 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.

  • Brian HatchKnoxville Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • Christopher L NicholsKnoxville City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Daniel R LosadaKnoxville City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Bridget MohlerKnoxville City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Dawn RankinKnoxville City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • John GottaKnoxville 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 Knoxville

Homes and businesses in most of Knoxville pay a combined $40.87 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, $17.46. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$42.86$20.03
FY21$43.31$18.56
FY22$42.99$18.41
FY23$41.28$17.33
FY24$42.02$18.26
FY25$41.71$18.01
FY26$41.75$18.00
FY27$40.87$17.46
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$42.86$20.03
FY21$43.31$18.56
FY22$42.99$18.41
FY23$41.28$17.33
FY24$42.02$18.26
FY25$41.71$18.01
FY26$41.75$18.00
FY27$40.87$17.46

Compared with places this size3

Knoxville’s city property tax rate of $17.46 per $1,000 is the 11th highest of 49 Iowa cities with 5,000–11,000 people. The middle of the group is $15.21.

Red Oak: $20.65Oelwein: $20.16Keokuk: $19.68Independence: $19.01Iowa Falls: $18.86Fort Madison: $18.84Denison: $18.69Perry: $17.91Waverly: $17.53Atlantic: $17.48Clarinda: $17.25Centerville: $16.85Algona: $16.75Fairfield: $16.69Webster City: $16.51Vinton: $16.25Winterset: $16.15Anamosa: $15.95Charles City: $15.95Grinnell: $15.60Decorah: $15.52Sheldon: $15.33Estherville: $15.27Washington: $15.21Creston: $14.99Manchester: $14.96Cherokee: $14.82Glenwood: $14.77Nevada: $14.58Osceola: $14.37Windsor Heights: $14.30Orange City: $14.01Hiawatha: $13.78Sergeant Bluff: $13.70Adel: $13.43Maquoketa: $12.85Mount Pleasant: $11.94Tiffin: $11.80Carroll: $11.25Le Mars: $11.18Sioux Center: $11.05Polk City: $11.00Bondurant: $10.82Pella: $10.75Spirit Lake: $10.17Clear Lake: $9.85Asbury: $8.32Eldridge: $8.13Knoxville: $17.46$8.13 lowest$20.65 highestmiddle
See all 49
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Red Oak$20.655,420
2Oelwein$20.165,788
3Keokuk$19.689,462
4Independence$19.016,266
5Iowa Falls$18.864,993
6Fort Madison$18.849,983
7Denison$18.698,302
8Perry$17.918,046
9Waverly$17.5310,576
10Atlantic$17.486,717
11Knoxville$17.467,440
12Clarinda$17.255,334
13Centerville$16.855,345
14Algona$16.755,341
15Fairfield$16.699,511
16Webster City$16.517,763
17Vinton$16.254,962
18Winterset$16.155,421
19Anamosa$15.955,845
20Charles City$15.957,081
21Grinnell$15.609,495
22Decorah$15.527,454
23Sheldon$15.335,584
24Estherville$15.275,796
25Washington$15.217,281
26Creston$14.997,421
27Manchester$14.965,283
28Cherokee$14.825,186
29Glenwood$14.775,250
30Nevada$14.587,082
31Osceola$14.375,585
32Windsor Heights$14.305,106
33Orange City$14.016,547
34Hiawatha$13.787,347
35Sergeant Bluff$13.705,335
36Adel$13.436,763
37Maquoketa$12.856,064
38Mount Pleasant$11.948,509
39Tiffin$11.806,695
40Carroll$11.2510,125
41Le Mars$11.1810,674
42Sioux Center$11.058,675
43Polk City$11.006,430
44Bondurant$10.829,511
45Pella$10.7510,965
46Spirit Lake$10.175,548
47Clear Lake$9.857,602
48Asbury$8.326,051
49Eldridge$8.136,967

The $8.10 limit

Knoxville’s general levy is $7.81 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.29 below the limit.4 700 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.13 · FY26 $7.97 · FY27 $7.81 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $9.65 more5

  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$5.59 · $1.6M
  • Debt Service Levy$3.66 · $1.1M
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$0.41 · $120,499

Tax increment financing (TIF)

$2.0M of taxable value in Knoxville is in TIF districts’ increment (1% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.6 It budgeted $29,019 in TIF revenue for FY25.

$705,342
$576,480

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 $28,187 of the city’s own.

  • Marion County$10,918
YearTIF revenue
FY16$516,947
FY17$571,856
FY18$605,296
FY19$554,290
FY20$705,342
FY21$639,317
FY22$671,363
FY23$576,480
Show the numbers
YearTIF revenue
FY16$516,947
FY17$571,856
FY18$605,296
FY19$554,290
FY20$705,342
FY21$639,317
FY22$671,363
FY23$576,480

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$2.3M45%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$1.6M32%
  • Debt Service Levy$1.1M21%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$120,4992%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Knoxville’s budget goes, FY26

Capital Projects: 52¢ of every dollar52¢Public Safety: 17¢ of every dollar17¢Business Type / Enterprise: 12¢ of every dollar12¢Culture and Recreation: 6¢ of every dollarDebt Service: 4¢ of every dollarEverything else: 8¢ of every dollar8¢

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 (5,000–11,000 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (48)
Capital Projects52¢20¢
Public Safety17¢13¢
Business Type / Enterprise12¢38¢
Culture and Recreation6¢7¢
Debt Service4¢7¢
Everything else8¢16¢

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.

  • Capital Projects$15.6M61%
  • Public Safety$4.7M18%
  • Culture and Recreation$1.8M7%
  • Public Works$1.3M5%
  • Debt Service$1.2M5%
  • General Government$716,9113%
  • Community and Economic Development$419,4682%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($3.4M in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$912,282$939,047
Public Safety$3.4M$3.5M
Health and Social Services$0$0
General Government$513,825$803,060
Debt Service$1.6M$1.8M
Culture and Recreation$1.4M$1.5M
Community and Economic Development$365,029$386,693
Capital Projects$3.9M$4.3M
Business Type / Enterprise$6.0M$5.8M

What it spent each year

FY24 left out8

$19.5M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Knoxville owes

$32.9M at June 30, 2026: $4,326 per resident. 158th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).9

$32.9M
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$32.9M$4,326
2025$16.3M$2,145
2024$16.0M$2,110
2023$15.8M$2,086
2022$14.6M$1,926
2021$14.4M$1,891
2020$15.1M$1,991
2019$17.1M$2,247
2018$18.8M$2,481
2017$14.1M$1,859
2016$15.6M$2,057
2015$16.9M$2,228
2014$15.2M$1,995
2013$18.8M$2,480
2012$15.8M$2,086
2011$17.0M$2,240
2010$13.2M$1,733
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$32.9M$4,326
2025$16.3M$2,145
2024$16.0M$2,110
2023$15.8M$2,086
2022$14.6M$1,926
2021$14.4M$1,891
2020$15.1M$1,991
2019$17.1M$2,247
2018$18.8M$2,481
2017$14.1M$1,859
2016$15.6M$2,057
2015$16.9M$2,228
2014$15.2M$1,995
2013$18.8M$2,480
2012$15.8M$2,086
2011$17.0M$2,240
2010$13.2M$1,733

Up 150% since 2010.

The 5% limit10

General obligation debt is $25.1M, 92% of the limit of about $27.2M (5% of $543.2M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

11 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
General ObligationUrban Renewal 2026 GO BOND - Public Safety Building paid by LOST Revenue2045$16.0M
LoansUtilities/Sewer - SRF20222042$5.7M
General Obligationpark improvements, street improvements, library expansion, airport improvements2037$3.5M
General Obligation2026 GO Bond - 2026 Street Improvement Project2045$1.6M
General Obligation2023 Street Improvement Project2039$1.6M
General Obligationstreet improvement project2037$1.3M
Loanssewer relief project 2010A SRF2031$870,000
Loans2015 SRF loan2031$842,000
General Obligation2020 Highway Project, 2021 Street Improvement Project 2020A2032$660,000
General Obligationstreet improvements, rec trails 2016A GO and Refunding2028$505,000
Revenue BondsI&I Improvement Projects 2015A Sewer Revenue2027$350,000

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 balances11. Knoxville’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 Monday, December 1, 2025, by a CPA firm.

16 earlier reports for Knoxville

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: $1.3M in FY25, up 24% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 1% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$1.0M$1.0M$1.1M$1.1M
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)$102,865$100,558$154,323$229,111

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.

$1.0M
  • Iowa DOT projects$998,20097%
  • State grants$29,5333%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$315,532
FY20$116,532
FY21$98,917
FY22$36,747
FY23$642,385
FY24$42,439
FY25$1.0M
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$315,532
FY20$116,532
FY21$98,917
FY22$36,747
FY23$642,385
FY24$42,439
FY25$1.0M

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−9%$944,735 → $1.1M, up 14% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 9% less
  • Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)+62%$112,833 → $229,111, up 103% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 62% 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 50% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 19% more.

$1.6M
$1.5M

Federal grants, for comparison: $688,180 in FY25.

Business awards

Every award statewide

State economic development awards

3 businesses have state awards in KNOXVILLE: $6.6M in grants, loans and tax benefits, for 338 jobs. Closed projects promised 66 jobs; 66 were there at the end.14

  • Weiler, Inc.
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY24 · Under contract: Building · 171 jobs required
    $513K
  • 3M Company
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY22 · Not going ahead: Contract ended · 30 jobs required
    $1.9M
  • Weiler, Inc.
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY22 · Under contract: Keeping the jobs · 101 jobs required, 72 reported
    $1.8M
  • 3M Company
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY18 · Closed: Met its contract · 66 jobs required, 66 at the end
    $4.3M

Community college new jobs training: 8 contracts since 2005 worth $4.5M, for 580 pledged jobs.

Awards 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)15.

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

2 seats: the top 2 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Knoxville; 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.

  • Knoxville City Council At-Large (3 seats)
    Now held by John Gotta, Bridget Mohler, Dawn Rankin
  • Knoxville Mayor
    Now held by Brian Hatch

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here16.

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 ballot17.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress18

Senate District 11 (vacant)Brooke Boden (Rep. 21)

U.S. House:District 1

Marion CountyKnoxville schools