Local taxes › Palo Alto County › Ruthven

City

Ruthven

$2,980 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($35.37 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$1,330 a yearof that goes to the city ($15.84 per $1,000)

$281,969property taxes the city levies, FY27

$518,829city 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.

Dustin JohnsonRuthven Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Maya NaigRuthven City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Mitch AndersonRuthven City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Casey PomeroyRuthven City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Hailey DerricksonRuthven City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Morgan MillerRuthven 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 Ruthven

Homes and businesses in most of Ruthven pay a combined $35.37 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Palo Alto County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $15.84. Estimate your bill.

City of Ruthven$15.8445%
Ruthven-Ayrshire schools$11.1532%
Palo Alto County$4.4813%
Palo Alto County Hospital$1.986%
Iowa Lakes Community College$1.274%
Palo Alto County Assessor$0.35<1%
Palo Alto County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.30<1%

Rates over time

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

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$31.63	$9.75
FY21	$33.81	$12.93
FY22	$32.13	$11.93
FY23	$34.78	$14.22
FY24	$35.10	$15.41
FY25	$33.87	$14.39
FY26	$34.53	$15.22
FY27	$35.37	$15.84

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$31.63	$9.75
FY21	$33.81	$12.93
FY22	$32.13	$11.93
FY23	$34.78	$14.22
FY24	$35.10	$15.41
FY25	$33.87	$14.39
FY26	$34.53	$15.22
FY27	$35.37	$15.84

Compared with places this size³

Ruthven’s city property tax rate of $15.84 per $1,000 is the 41st highest of 187 Iowa cities with 480–1,100 people. The middle of the group is $12.88.

See all 187

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Exira	$24.81	766
2	Rolfe	$22.67	505
3	Dayton	$22.51	766
4	Charter Oak	$21.32	521
5	Correctionville	$19.84	759
6	Pomeroy	$19.60	511
7	Allison	$19.06	937
8	Dumont	$19.04	614
9	Seymour	$18.78	646
10	Dexter	$18.69	631
11	Fonda	$18.52	636
12	Kanawha	$18.11	638
13	Swea City	$18.04	545
14	Greene	$17.91	971
15	Alden	$17.90	738
16	Elma	$17.82	493
17	Dows	$17.70	509
18	New Hartford	$17.69	555
19	Lansing	$17.67	959
20	Rockwell	$17.54	1,044
21	Walnut	$17.46	728
22	Murray	$17.44	609
23	Thompson	$17.25	478
24	Gowrie	$17.17	943
25	Colo	$17.14	856
26	Latimer	$16.96	477
27	Adair	$16.84	792
28	Eddyville	$16.82	965
29	Elk Horn	$16.78	631
30	Oxford	$16.70	715
31	Buffalo Center	$16.58	839
32	Whittemore	$16.54	478
33	Bancroft	$16.52	677
34	Titonka	$16.45	491
35	Eldon	$16.42	788
36	Early	$16.35	571
37	Truro	$16.34	515
38	Mechanicsville	$16.12	974
39	Scranton	$16.01	496
40	Armstrong	$15.87	847
41	Ruthven	$15.84	710
42	Minden	$15.77	581
43	Walker	$15.74	671
44	Newell	$15.49	850
45	Riceville	$15.31	807
46	Neola	$15.30	917
47	Sidney	$15.19	1,048
48	Russell	$15.18	475
49	Gilbertville	$15.15	792
50	Stanwood	$15.12	612
51	Stratford	$15.03	688
52	Griswold	$15.01	975
53	Zearing	$14.99	508
54	Readlyn	$14.99	857
55	Wyoming	$14.81	526
56	Hopkinton	$14.79	622
57	Essex	$14.76	721
58	Gilmore City	$14.60	484
59	Dunlap	$14.56	1,030
60	Garnavillo	$14.52	751
61	Maxwell	$14.50	862
62	Sabula	$14.38	498
63	Collins	$14.32	503
64	Clermont	$14.30	571
65	Moulton	$14.25	596
66	Mcgregor	$14.20	725
67	Olin	$14.19	652
68	Primghar	$14.18	893
69	Farragut	$14.07	480
70	Elgin	$14.05	676
71	Dow City	$13.94	477
72	Ossian	$13.88	777
73	Redfield	$13.73	719
74	Victor	$13.72	852
75	Edgewood	$13.64	908
76	Sioux Rapids	$13.63	722
77	Donnellson	$13.63	859
78	Gladbrook	$13.58	775
79	Rockford	$13.52	722
80	Janesville	$13.43	1,052
81	Boyden	$13.39	694
82	Baxter	$13.32	983
83	Anita	$13.28	953
84	Van Horne	$13.27	768
85	Keota	$13.21	888
86	Shellsburg	$13.20	987
87	De Soto	$13.18	937
88	Quasqueton	$13.12	587
89	Farmington	$13.10	583
90	Anthon	$13.05	534
91	Odebolt	$13.00	967
92	Coggon	$12.99	691
93	Earlville	$12.90	713
94	Brighton	$12.88	592
95	Danville	$12.87	910
96	Underwood	$12.85	973
97	Malvern	$12.79	1,056
98	Montrose	$12.78	734
99	Goldfield	$12.73	617
100	Wellsburg	$12.68	709
101	Delmar	$12.68	541
102	Badger	$12.67	540
103	Stanton	$12.62	664
104	Hospers	$12.58	703
105	Everly	$12.51	570
106	Hazleton	$12.48	711
107	West Point	$12.39	903
108	Hinton	$12.38	959
109	Preston	$12.38	940
110	Alburnett	$12.30	672
111	Hubbard	$12.30	837
112	Moravia	$12.27	625
113	Hedrick	$12.22	717
114	Carson	$12.22	772
115	Wheatland	$12.18	765
116	Schaller	$12.14	702
117	Winfield	$12.04	1,006
118	Afton	$11.96	864
119	Lowden	$11.93	767
120	Tabor	$11.88	983
121	Albert City	$11.88	627
122	Aurelia	$11.84	970
123	Merrill	$11.64	713
124	Ellsworth	$11.57	495
125	Morning Sun	$11.50	702
126	Battle Creek	$11.49	683
127	Wall Lake	$11.43	739
128	West Bend	$11.42	770
129	Dakota City	$11.39	764
130	Dunkerton	$11.30	840
131	Sutherland	$11.25	628
132	Arcadia	$11.23	588
133	Whiting	$11.21	725
134	Shelby	$11.17	730
135	Blairstown	$11.04	705
136	Manilla	$11.01	756
137	Hamburg	$10.95	863
138	Clarence	$10.94	991
139	Ireton	$10.93	571
140	Fontanelle	$10.88	684
141	Richland	$10.82	532
142	Grand Mound	$10.78	608
143	Cambridge	$10.53	844
144	Swisher	$10.39	909
145	Schleswig	$10.39	820
146	Melbourne	$10.38	771
147	Radcliffe	$10.37	540
148	Elk Run Heights	$10.33	1,061
149	Fredericksburg	$10.27	983
150	Ventura	$10.22	701
151	Inwood	$10.22	962
152	Milo	$10.20	762
153	Hartford	$10.16	729
154	What Cheer	$10.01	595
155	Newhall	$9.99	887
156	Cumming	$9.85	527
157	Graettinger	$9.81	810
158	Breda	$9.80	492
159	Doon	$9.78	640
160	Long Grove	$9.59	849
161	Paullina	$9.21	979
162	Winthrop	$8.94	814
163	Crescent	$8.72	626
164	Ainsworth	$8.62	511
165	Keosauqua	$8.58	944
166	Grand Junction	$8.57	715
167	Princeton	$8.24	917
168	Gilman	$8.10	530
169	Lakeside	$8.10	695
170	Kellogg	$8.10	597
171	Riverside	$8.02	1,063
172	Agency	$7.94	623
173	Hills	$7.94	911
174	Fremont	$7.86	688
175	Larchwood	$7.52	954
176	North English	$7.49	1,030
177	Sully	$7.41	891
178	Fruitland	$7.21	928
179	Lawton	$7.10	949
180	Wayland	$7.07	935
181	Raymond	$6.85	754
182	Keystone	$6.80	616
183	Shueyville	$6.79	725
184	New Virginia	$5.97	499
185	University Park	$5.27	476
186	Orleans	$4.13	503
187	Okoboji	$3.83	729

The $8.10 limit

Ruthven’s general levy is $8.13 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.03 above the limit; it has to come down in steps.⁴ 212 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

$8.10

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.37 · FY26 $8.37 · FY27 $8.13 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $7.71 more⁵

Total Employee Benefit Levies$6.31 · $112,311
Liability, property & self insurance costs$1.27 · $22,584
Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$0.13 · $2,391

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$144,68351%
Total Employee Benefit Levies$112,31140%
Liability, property & self insurance costs$22,5848%
Support of a Local Emerg. Mgmt. Comm.$2,3911%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Ruthven’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 186 Iowa cities closest in size (480–1,100 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (186)
Business Type / Enterprise	45¢	40¢
Public Works	24¢	17¢
Culture and Recreation	15¢	9¢
Public Safety	8¢	9¢
General Government	7¢	11¢
Everything else	2¢	2¢

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 Works$196,45738%
Culture and Recreation$149,74629%
Public Safety$81,25416%
General Government$72,37214%
Community and Economic Development$19,0004%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($441,850 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$193,878	$171,783
Public Safety	$72,061	$73,078
Health and Social Services	$0	$0
General Government	$45,857	$113,813
Debt Service	$0	$0
Culture and Recreation	$132,626	$145,434
Community and Economic Development	$0	$129,214
Capital Projects	$0	$1.2M
Business Type / Enterprise	$274,105	$317,475

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁶

$3.3M

$2.8M

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? ⁷

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: $117,150 in FY25, up 16% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 8% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$100,618	$99,861	$103,256	$111,407
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)	–	$4,872	$4,176	$5,743

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.

$103,386

$18,645

State grants$18,645100%

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$81,954
FY20	$33,874
FY21	$103,386
FY22	$72,705
FY23	$73,024
FY24	$0
FY25	$18,645

Show the numbers

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$81,954
FY20	$33,874
FY21	$103,386
FY22	$72,705
FY23	$73,024
FY24	$0
FY25	$18,645

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−7%$95,727 → $111,407, up 16% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 7% less
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)−15%$5,406 → $5,743, up 6% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 15% 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 48% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 18% more.

$134,924

$107,242

Federal grants, for comparison: $240,038 in FY25.

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

City · 2

Ruthven City Council At-Large

2 seats: the top 2 win.

Mitch Anderson Winner8055.2%
Maya Naig Winner6544.8%

Ruthven Mayor

Dustin Johnson Winner7383.0%
Chase Cookman 1517.1%

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

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁸

David D. Rowley (Sen. 5)John H. Wills (Rep. 10)

U.S. House:District 4

Palo Alto County Ruthven-Ayrshire 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. ↩
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 Ruthven; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Ruthven 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.

Ruthven

Who runs it

Meetings and agendas

Property taxes

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Ruthven

Rates over time

Compared with places this size3

The $8.10 limit

Outside the limit: $7.71 more5

The city’s levies, FY27

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Ruthven’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 Congress8

Compared with places this size³

Outside the limit: $7.71 more⁵

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁸