Local taxes › Marshall County › Marshalltown

City

Marshalltown

$3,440 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($40.88 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$1,370 a yearof that goes to the city ($16.25 per $1,000)

$15.9Mproperty taxes the city levies, FY27

$60.0Mcity 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.

Greg NicholsMarshalltown City Council Ward 3 · elected November 4, 2025
Jeff SchneiderMarshalltown City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Marco A. Yepez-GomezMarshalltown City Council Ward 1 · elected November 4, 2025
Mike LadehoffMarshalltown Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Sue CahillMarshalltown City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Alan HoopMarshalltown City Council Ward 4 · elected November 7, 2023
Gary ThompsonMarshalltown City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Mark MitchellMarshalltown City Council Ward 2 · 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.

Agendas will appear here as they’re posted. 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 Marshalltown

Homes and businesses in most of Marshalltown pay a combined $42.92 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Marshall County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $16.25. Estimate your bill.

Marshalltown schools$17.9742%
City of Marshalltown$16.2538%
Marshall County$6.2915%
Iowa Valley Community College$1.704%
Marshall County Assessor$0.571%
Marshall County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.15<1%

Rates over time

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

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$40.98	$15.38
FY21	$41.74	$15.38
FY22	$39.88	$15.36
FY23	$39.77	$15.36
FY24	$39.08	$16.00
FY25	$37.42	$16.00
FY26	$37.67	$16.00
FY27	$40.88	$16.25

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$40.98	$15.38
FY21	$41.74	$15.38
FY22	$39.88	$15.36
FY23	$39.77	$15.36
FY24	$39.08	$16.00
FY25	$37.42	$16.00
FY26	$37.67	$16.00
FY27	$40.88	$16.25

Compared with places this size³

Marshalltown’s city property tax rate of $16.25 per $1,000 is the 4th highest of 15 Iowa cities with 20,000–41,000 people. The middle of the group is $14.47.

See all 15

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Ottumwa	$21.01	25,648
2	Fort Dodge	$20.89	24,886
3	Clinton	$16.80	24,118
4	Marshalltown	$16.25	27,886
5	Muscatine	$16.17	23,298
6	Burlington	$15.94	23,637
7	Coralville	$14.70	23,959
8	Mason City	$14.47	26,948
9	Bettendorf	$13.33	40,281
10	Waukee	$12.80	34,420
11	Cedar Falls	$12.29	41,417
12	North Liberty	$11.84	21,904
13	Johnston	$11.39	25,022
14	Altoona	$10.75	22,598
15	Clive	$9.92	19,508

The $8.10 limit

Marshalltown’s general levy is $8.33 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.23 above the limit; it has to come down in steps.⁴ 80 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

$8.10

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.50 · FY26 $8.42 · FY27 $8.33 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $7.92 more⁵

Total Employee Benefit Levies$3.96 · $3.8M
Debt Service Levy$2.11 · $2.2M
Capital Projects (Capital Improv. Reserve)$0.68 · $655,326
Opr & Maint publicly owned Transit$0.65 · $631,055
Liability, property & self insurance costs$0.52 · $507,941

Tax increment financing (TIF)

$59.9M of taxable value in Marshalltown is in TIF districts’ increment (6% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.⁶ It budgeted $1.5M in TIF revenue for FY25.

$1.3M

$470,298

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 $847,473 of the city’s own.

Marshalltown schools$782,935
Marshall County$361,428

Year	TIF revenue
FY16	$1.3M
FY17	$439,671
FY18	$174,524
FY19	$963,037
FY20	$639,223
FY21	$662,386
FY22	$922,123
FY23	$470,298

Show the numbers

Year	TIF revenue
FY16	$1.3M
FY17	$439,671
FY18	$174,524
FY19	$963,037
FY20	$639,223
FY21	$662,386
FY22	$922,123
FY23	$470,298

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$8.1M51%
Total Employee Benefit Levies$3.8M24%
Debt Service Levy$2.2M14%
Capital Projects (Capital Improv. Reserve)$655,3264%
Opr & Maint publicly owned Transit$631,0554%
Liability, property & self insurance costs$507,9413%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Marshalltown’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 14 Iowa cities closest in size (20,000–41,000 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (14)
Business Type / Enterprise	28¢	29¢
Capital Projects	26¢	24¢
Public Safety	15¢	14¢
Debt Service	8¢	11¢
Public Works	7¢	7¢
Everything else	16¢	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.

Capital Projects$15.9M27%
Public Safety$13.3M22%
Public Works$11.9M20%
Debt Service$6.7M11%
Community and Economic Development$3.9M7%
Culture and Recreation$3.9M7%
General Government$2.2M4%
Health and Social Services$2.0M3%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($24.5M in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$5.4M	$4.2M
Public Safety	$10.3M	$10.3M
Health and Social Services	$1.6M	$1.1M
General Government	$1.5M	$1.5M
Debt Service	$5.8M	$5.8M
Culture and Recreation	$3.8M	$3.6M
Community and Economic Development	$5.7M	$3.8M
Capital Projects	$25.6M	$9.3M
Business Type / Enterprise	$28.0M	$20.8M

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁸

$78.6M

Marshalltown’s own budget documents

The adopted budgets, resolutions and hearing notices the city posts, often weeks before the state publishes the figures. The city’s finance page

Marshalltown Water Works FY27 BudgetBudget
Memo FY27 Budget DiscussionBudget
Memo for Public Hearing on Property Tax Levy for FY27 BudgetHearing notice
Notice of Public Hearing - Proposed Property Tax Lavy FY27Hearing notice
Notice of Public Hearing for entire FY27 Budget to be held April 27, 2026Hearing notice
SIGNED Resolution Set Public Hearing FY27 BudgetHearing notice

104 older

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Marshalltown owes

$67.2M at June 30, 2026: $2,435 per resident. 330th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).⁹

$82.1M

$67.2M

June 30	Owed	Per resident
2026	$67.2M	$2,435
2025	$77.8M	$2,821
2024	$82.1M	$2,975
2023	$71.2M	$2,580
2022	$65.3M	$2,366
2021	$62.1M	$2,249
2020	$58.2M	$2,110
2019	$56.1M	$2,033
2018	$52.4M	$1,899
2017	$45.4M	$1,646
2016	$40.5M	$1,468
2015	$37.4M	$1,357
2014	$38.9M	$1,409
2013	$40.0M	$1,449
2012	$31.2M	$1,131
2011	$26.3M	$954
2010	$21.9M	$794

Show the numbers

June 30	Owed	Per resident
2026	$67.2M	$2,435
2025	$77.8M	$2,821
2024	$82.1M	$2,975
2023	$71.2M	$2,580
2022	$65.3M	$2,366
2021	$62.1M	$2,249
2020	$58.2M	$2,110
2019	$56.1M	$2,033
2018	$52.4M	$1,899
2017	$45.4M	$1,646
2016	$40.5M	$1,468
2015	$37.4M	$1,357
2014	$38.9M	$1,409
2013	$40.0M	$1,449
2012	$31.2M	$1,131
2011	$26.3M	$954
2010	$21.9M	$794

Up 207% since 2010.

The 5% limit¹⁰

General obligation debt is $45.8M, 53% of the limit of about $86.4M (5% of $1.73B, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

17 obligations at June 30, 2026

Kind	For	Paid off by	Owed
Revenue Bonds	SRF CIPP & HEADWORKS Project 59017	2043	$11.5M
General Obligation	2017A Police & Fire Building. Project 31137	2037	$9.5M
General Obligation	2023GO Project31145: Downtown reconstruction of Main Street and Center Street including beautification projects. Other street/stormwater improvements.	2039	$9.1M
General Obligation	2022A GO Streets, Trails, Park Improvements	2038	$8.5M
General Obligation	2021 GO Project 31142 for streets, viaduct, parking lot, Dangerous and dilapidated building removals	2034	$6.4M
General Obligation	2020A GO for Firetruck, Railroad Crossing Safety, Trail, Parking lot, Refunding, Storm Water/ Project 31140	2032	$4.4M
Loans	SRF Marshalltown Water Works Plant Improvements from State Revolving Fund	2036	$4.0M
Loans	SRF: Manhole & Point Repairs and Sponsored Project SRF Loan	2040	$2.8M
General Obligation	2019 GO. Streets, Sidewalks, Park Improvements and Refunding GO Series 2011.	2030	$2.5M
General Obligation	2016B GO Project #31136 Police & Fire Building	2029	$1.5M
Revenue Bonds	2020 Sewer Revenue Bond to refund 2012 and 2014 revenue bonds	2029	$1.4M
General Obligation	2020B GO Airport Hanger and Terminal. Project 31141	2032	$1.4M
General Obligation	2018 GO Project #31138 Streets, Sidewalks, and Parking Lot.	2029	$1.2M
Revenue Bonds	2021 Rev Bond to refund 2015 Revenue bond. Project 59009.	2028	$1.1M
General Obligation	2016A GO Project #31135 Storm Water and Streets	2031	$1.1M
Revenue Bonds	2013 Sewer Revenue Project #52012 - 2013 sewer improvements	2028	$619,000
General Obligation	2022B GO Taxable Bond Dangerous and Delipidated buildings	2028	$265,000

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. Marshalltown’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 Thursday, June 25, 2026, by a CPA firm.

The report has no Schedule of Findings Iowa Funnel could read.

16 earlier reports for Marshalltown

Financial Statement, period ending Sunday, June 30, 2024Wednesday, August 13, 2025
Financial Statement, period ending Friday, June 30, 2023Monday, July 8, 2024
Financial Statement, period ending Thursday, June 30, 2022Tuesday, January 3, 2023
Financial Statement, period ending Wednesday, June 30, 2021Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Financial Statement, period ending Tuesday, June 30, 2020Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Financial Statement, period ending Sunday, June 30, 2019Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Financial Statement, period ending Saturday, June 30, 2018Friday, February 1, 2019
Financial Statement, period ending Friday, June 30, 2017Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Financial Statement, period ending Thursday, June 30, 2016Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Financial Statement, period ending Tuesday, June 30, 2015Monday, March 14, 2016
Financial Statement, period ending Monday, June 30, 2014Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Financial Statement, period ending Sunday, June 30, 2013Friday, January 31, 2014
Financial Statement, period ending Saturday, June 30, 2012Friday, March 29, 2013
Financial Statement, period ending Thursday, June 30, 2011Monday, April 9, 2012
Financial Statement, period ending Wednesday, June 30, 2010Friday, January 21, 2011
Financial Statement, period ending Tuesday, June 30, 2009Thursday, February 18, 2010

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: $4.2M in FY25, up 3% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 18% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$3.8M	$3.8M	$3.9M	$3.9M
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)	$382,215	$335,579	$287,639	$239,699

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.

$2.9M

$802,183

State grants$413,27152%
Iowa DOT projects$378,91247%
DCAT (IMPACT GRANT)$10,0001%

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$730,793
FY20	$533,890
FY21	$1.0M
FY22	$1.1M
FY23	$1.2M
FY24	$2.9M
FY25	$802,183

Show the numbers

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$730,793
FY20	$533,890
FY21	$1.0M
FY22	$1.1M
FY23	$1.2M
FY24	$2.9M
FY25	$802,183

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−12%$3.6M → $3.9M, up 10% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 12% less
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)−58%$459,473 → $239,699, down 48% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 58% 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 32% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 5% more.

$4.7M

$4.4M

Federal grants, for comparison: $4.5M in FY25.

Business awards

Every award statewide

State economic development awards

1 business has state awards in MARSHALLTOWN: $178K in grants, loans and tax benefits, for 48 jobs.¹⁴

CO2 Refrigeration Systems (IOWA) LLC
High Quality Jobs Program · FY24 · Under contract: Building · 48 jobs required
$178K
RACOM Corporation
High Quality Jobs Program · FY19 · Not going ahead: Contract ended · 8 jobs required
$190K
Tug Kay Consulting, LLC
High Quality Jobs Program · FY17 · Not going ahead: Declined or withdrawn · 23 jobs required
$275K

Community college new jobs training: 10 contracts since 2003 worth $3.2M, for 843 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 · 4

Marshalltown City Council At-Large

2 seats: the top 2 win.

Sue Cahill Winner1,99733.8%
Jeff Schneider Winner1,72929.3%
Scott McLain 1,27921.7%
Timothy Bradbury 89915.2%

Marshalltown City Council Ward 1

Marco A. Yepez-Gomez Unopposed275100.0%

Marshalltown City Council Ward 3

Greg Nichols Unopposed957100.0%

Marshalltown Mayor

Mike Ladehoff Winner1,77353.1%
Gary Thompson 1,56746.9%

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Marshalltown; 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.

Marshalltown City Council At-Large
Now held by Gary Thompson
Marshalltown City Council Ward 2
Now held by Mark Mitchell
Marshalltown City Council Ward 4
Now held by Alan Hoop

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

Kara Warme (Sen. 26)David L. Blom (Rep. 52)

U.S. House:District 4

Marshall County East Marshall schools Marshalltown 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. ↩
Iowa Code section 384.1, as changed by House File 718 (2023). Until FY25 a city’s regular general levy was capped at $8.10 by itself, and a city at the cap could add an emergency levy of up to $0.27. From FY25 the general levy and several smaller levies were combined into one “consolidated” general levy with an $8.10 limit; a city whose combined rate was above $8.10 lowers it in steps, in years its taxable value grows by more than the law allows, until it reaches $8.10. So years before FY25 aren’t directly comparable with later ones. ↩
Levies outside the limit are each set aside for one purpose and have their own rules: debt service pays back bonds voters or the council approved, employee benefits cover pensions and insurance, and some (transit, an airport, insurance costs) have their own caps in state law. ↩
Tax increment financing: when a city sets up a TIF district, the taxable value there is frozen at a “base”. Taxes on the base go to every government as usual; taxes on the growth in value since (the “increment”) go to the city’s TIF fund to pay for the project, such as roads, utilities or a developer rebate, until the district ends. From the state’s valuation file (Iowa Data Hub), valuation year 2025. ↩
This multiplies the taxable value in the city’s TIF districts by each government’s rate on TIF value. It is not the money each government lost: without TIF, the same taxes would be spread over a bigger base, so rates would be lower for everyone; the state’s school aid formula makes up much of a school district’s share; and some of the value might not have been built without TIF. Each government still gets its debt service levy on TIF value, and a school district its physical plant and equipment and instructional support levies; those aren’t counted here. Community colleges, assessors and other smaller levies are left out. ↩
The state’s FY24 spending file repeats the year before for nearly every Iowa city, so that year isn’t shown. ↩
From the reports each government files with the Treasurer of State’s debt reporting site. “Per resident” divides by the population the site lists, the same figure for every year, so the trend shows the debt itself changing. ↩
Article XI, section 3 of the Iowa Constitution limits a county, city or school district’s debt to 5% of the value of the taxable property in it. Iowa applies the limit to the full (100%) value, before the rollback, and it covers general obligation debt, backed by property taxes; revenue bonds repaid only from fees, like water bills, don’t count. Iowa Funnel compares general obligation debt with 5% of the value two years earlier, as the last tax lists before the year; a government’s own bond documents state its exact figure. ↩
The Department of Management’s city budget and annual report files on the Iowa Data Hub give revenue and spending by city, but no beginning or ending fund balances. A city’s audit or annual financial report has them, in its statement of net position and its fund balance schedules. ↩
From the Auditor of State’s list of audit reports. Every Iowa city, county and school district is audited or examined: larger ones each year by a CPA firm or the Auditor of State, small cities every few years. Findings are problems the auditors report, from weak controls over cash to breaking a law. ↩
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. ↩
From the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s project records on the Iowa Data Hub (High Quality Jobs and Targeted Jobs awards since about 2013). Projects that won’t go ahead aren’t counted. ↩
Iowa Code §376.4(1)(a): nomination papers are filed 71 to 47 days before the election, by 5:00 p.m. on the last day. Cities that may hold a primary election file earlier: 85 to 68 days before. ↩
Expected seats come from when each seat was last elected and its term. Filed candidates come from civicAPI and, in Black Hawk, Johnson and Scott counties, the auditor’s published candidate list, read weekly while filing is open. Check with the county auditor or city clerk before relying on it. Only names are shown. ↩
Iowa Code §39.2(4) (2026), paragraph d: “For any political subdivision of this state, if the special election is in whole or in part for the question of issuing bonds or other indebtedness, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.” This applies to bond elections on or after July 1, 2023. Subsection 2 adds that “a special election for a city, school district, or merged area shall not be scheduled to coincide with the general election.” A few kinds of elections follow their own rules (“unless otherwise provided by law”). ↩
Legislative and congressional districts that cover Marshalltown; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Marshalltown 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.

Marshalltown

Who runs it

Meetings and agendas

Property taxes

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Marshalltown

Rates over time

Compared with places this size3

The $8.10 limit

Outside the limit: $7.92 more5

Tax increment financing (TIF)

What that value would raise at each government’s rate, FY277

The city’s levies, FY27

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Marshalltown’s budget goes, FY26

Planned spending, FY27

What it spent each year

Marshalltown’s own budget documents

Debt, reserves and audits

What Marshalltown owes

The 5% limit10

Money in reserve

Audits12

State money

What the state pays the city every year

Grants and project money

Has it kept up with prices?

Collected by the state for the city

Business awards

State economic development awards

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

Who has filed for Tuesday, November 2, 2027

Past ballot measures

When a measure can be on the ballot

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress18

Compared with places this size³

Outside the limit: $7.92 more⁵

What that value would raise at each government’s rate, FY27⁷

The 5% limit¹⁰

Audits¹²

At the Statehouse and in Congress¹⁸