City

Archer

$2,340 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($27.77 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$740 a yearof that goes to the city ($8.84 per $1,000)

$46,971property taxes the city levies, FY27

$258,805city budget, all funds, FY27²

Who runs it

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

Jeremy EngelArcher City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
ScatteredArcher City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
ScatteredArcher Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Vanessa HarigArcher City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Aimee MuellerArcher City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Steven MeyerArcher 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 Archer

Homes and businesses in most of Archer pay a combined $27.77 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the O'Brien County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $8.84. Estimate your bill.

Sheldon schools$13.5149%
City of Archer$8.8432%
O'Brien County$3.5913%
Northwest Iowa Community College$1.315%
O'Brien County Assessor$0.331%
O'Brien County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.18<1%

Rates over time

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

CombinedCity’s own

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$25.61	$8.10
FY21	$26.13	$8.10
FY22	$25.98	$8.10
FY23	$25.48	$8.10
FY24	$25.32	$8.10
FY25	$28.33	$8.80
FY26	$28.11	$8.66
FY27	$27.77	$8.84

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$25.61	$8.10
FY21	$26.13	$8.10
FY22	$25.98	$8.10
FY23	$25.48	$8.10
FY24	$25.32	$8.10
FY25	$28.33	$8.80
FY26	$28.11	$8.66
FY27	$27.77	$8.84

Compared with places this size³

Archer’s city property tax rate of $8.84 per $1,000 is the 55th lowest of 143 Iowa cities with 80–170 people. The middle of the group is $9.90.

See all 143

#	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	Stanley	$20.69	86
7	Coin	$19.59	171
8	Rowan	$19.53	118
9	Chester	$19.30	134
10	Bouton	$19.25	125
11	Ricketts	$19.22	105
12	Garden Grove	$19.20	173
13	Hastings	$18.95	157
14	Grant	$18.71	82
15	Swaledale	$18.62	136
16	Derby	$18.13	89
17	Hillsboro	$17.68	158
18	Bristow	$17.39	139
19	Woolstock	$17.26	141
20	Monmouth	$16.41	129
21	Blockton	$16.37	123
22	Geneva	$16.25	137
23	Waterville	$16.25	112
24	Little Sioux	$15.74	170
25	Woodburn	$15.59	133
26	Goodell	$15.16	139
27	Marne	$15.03	109
28	Baldwin	$14.91	99
29	Palmer	$13.89	137
30	Ayrshire	$13.55	128
31	Searsboro	$13.55	129
32	Ferguson	$13.53	98
33	Lanesboro	$13.53	112
34	Calumet	$13.16	144
35	Delaware	$12.86	139
36	Clemons	$12.69	135
37	Cylinder	$12.52	84
38	Millersburg	$12.40	135
39	Aurora	$12.40	165
40	Bridgewater	$12.29	145
41	Arion	$12.14	99
42	Webb	$12.10	139
43	Decatur	$12.08	174
44	Shambaugh	$11.98	161
45	Lone Rock	$11.92	143
46	East Peru	$11.89	119
47	Henderson	$11.85	140
48	Reasnor	$11.76	157
49	Morley	$11.74	94
50	Ledyard	$11.74	118
51	Toronto	$11.68	101
52	Exline	$11.60	157
53	Beaman	$11.54	155
54	College Springs	$11.44	172
55	Melrose	$11.27	110
56	Linn Grove	$11.15	155
57	Promise City	$11.13	91
58	Leighton	$11.07	153
59	Masonville	$11.00	98
60	Somers	$10.99	121
61	Havelock	$10.95	127
62	Alexander	$10.90	165
63	Lambs Grove	$10.78	174
64	Wallingford	$10.75	154
65	Pacific Junction	$10.56	99
66	Barnes City	$10.44	152
67	Stockton	$10.37	171
68	Randall	$10.35	156
69	Drakesville	$10.24	170
70	North Washington	$10.23	107
71	Dawson	$10.19	110
72	Hartwick	$9.90	91
73	Clare	$9.81	133
74	Tingley	$9.81	146
75	Rutland	$9.65	116
76	Rock Falls	$9.61	143
77	Kirkville	$9.59	159
78	Superior	$9.58	127
79	Webster	$9.55	94
80	Martinsburg	$9.49	109
81	Larrabee	$9.41	116
82	Hamilton	$9.35	125
83	Wiota	$9.32	91
84	Floris	$9.29	119
85	Mitchell	$9.22	118
86	Westphalia	$9.18	133
87	Prairieburg	$8.91	156
88	Welton	$8.86	124
89	Archer	$8.84	116
90	Luther	$8.83	147
91	Fraser	$8.81	107
92	Macksburg	$8.81	103
93	Moorland	$8.61	169
94	Pilot Mound	$8.54	155
95	Andover	$8.28	106
96	Thurman	$8.26	162
97	Rome	$8.10	112
98	Carpenter	$8.10	92
99	Westfield	$8.10	121
100	Chillicothe	$8.10	79
101	Vincent	$8.09	125
102	Buckeye	$7.94	82
103	Morrison	$7.86	101
104	Mount Auburn	$7.86	162
105	Haverhill	$7.86	164
106	Oyens	$7.86	88
107	Olds	$7.86	174
108	Dickens	$7.86	146
109	Castalia	$7.86	141
110	Rose Hill	$7.86	156
111	West Chester	$7.82	147
112	Cromwell	$7.81	104
113	Mcclelland	$7.79	147
114	Arispe	$7.71	95
115	Luzerne	$7.69	111
116	Lidderdale	$7.68	162
117	Westwood	$7.67	96
118	Kinross	$7.57	80
119	Bernard	$7.56	117
120	Braddyville	$7.49	142
121	Franklin	$7.31	133
122	Spragueville	$7.20	92
123	Weldon	$7.18	134
124	Craig	$7.01	78
125	Brunsville	$6.95	128
126	Zwingle	$6.93	86
127	Pleasant Plain	$6.79	83
128	Houghton	$6.73	129
129	Williamson	$6.72	126
130	Lincoln	$6.32	119
131	Tennant	$6.29	83
132	Gravity	$6.18	149
133	Ackworth	$5.90	117
134	Springbrook	$5.79	145
135	Maysville	$5.77	155
136	Harper	$5.29	117
137	Panorama Park	$4.62	142
138	Keomah Village	$3.15	107
139	Mcintire	$2.78	115
140	Centralia	$2.41	117
141	New Liberty	$2.27	141
142	North Buena Vista	$1.78	107
143	Balltown	$0.12	78

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$43,01592%
Liability, property & self insurance costs$3,9568%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Archer’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 144 Iowa cities closest in size (80–170 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (144)
Public Works	55¢	27¢
Culture and Recreation	15¢	7¢
General Government	15¢	26¢
Public Safety	14¢	9¢
Health and Social Services	<1¢	<1¢

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.

Public Safety$165,86064%
Public Works$43,12017%
General Government$36,00014%
Culture and Recreation$12,9255%
Health and Social Services$9000%

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$83,830	$63,112
Public Safety	$8,500	$9,934
Health and Social Services	$0	$0
General Government	$25,700	$23,189
Debt Service	$0	$0
Culture and Recreation	$18,500	$14,256
Community and Economic Development	$3,000	$805
Capital Projects	$0	$0
Business Type / Enterprise	$0	$0

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁴

$121,984

$65,568

’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: $13,533 in FY25, down 3% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 23% less. Grants are below.

In today's dollarsActual dollars

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$13,591	$13,123	$13,460	$13,533

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.

$1,000

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$0
FY20	$0
FY21	$0
FY22	$1,000
FY23	$429
FY24	$0
FY25	$0

Show the numbers

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$0
FY20	$0
FY21	$0
FY22	$1,000
FY23	$429
FY24	$0
FY25	$0

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−23%$13,921 → $13,533, down 3% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 23% 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 31% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 4% more.

$20,566

$20,395

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25

Federal grants, for comparison: $9,270 in FY23.

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

City · 2

Archer City Council At-Large

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Jeremy Engel Winner940.9%
Vanessa Harig Winner836.4%
Scattered Winner313.6%
Gary Stangeland 29.1%

Archer Mayor

Scattered Winner571.4%
Steven Meyer 228.6%

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

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁶

Lynn Evans (Sen. 3)Zach Dieken (Rep. 5)

U.S. House:District 4

O'Brien County Sheldon 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 Archer; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Archer 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.

Archer

Who runs it

Meetings and agendas

Property taxes

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Archer

Rates over time

Compared with places this size3

The city’s levies, FY27

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Archer’s budget goes, FY26

Planned spending, FY27

What it spent each year

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

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress6

Compared with places this size³

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁶