Local taxes › Pocahontas County › Palmer

City

Palmer

$2,670 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($31.67 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$1,170 a yearof that goes to the city ($13.89 per $1,000)

$89,526property taxes the city levies, FY27

$192,214city 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.

Bette WarnkePalmer City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Melinda HabbenPalmer City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Robert RosenboomPalmer Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Tim ButcherPalmer City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Beth HabbenPalmer City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Jackie ConklinPalmer 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

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Palmer

Homes and businesses in most of Palmer pay a combined $31.67 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Pocahontas County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $13.89. Estimate your bill.

City of Palmer$13.8944%
Pocahontas Area schools$9.1029%
Pocahontas County$6.3820%
Iowa Central Community College$1.575%
Pocahontas County Assessor$0.451%
Pocahontas County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.28<1%

Rates over time

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

CombinedCity’s own

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$29.24	$10.32
FY21	$29.68	$10.60
FY22	$33.18	$13.45
FY23	$31.63	$12.89
FY24	$29.39	$13.24
FY25	$31.12	$13.81
FY26	$32.02	$14.31
FY27	$31.67	$13.89

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$29.24	$10.32
FY21	$29.68	$10.60
FY22	$33.18	$13.45
FY23	$31.63	$12.89
FY24	$29.39	$13.24
FY25	$31.12	$13.81
FY26	$32.02	$14.31
FY27	$31.67	$13.89

Compared with places this size³

Palmer’s city property tax rate of $13.89 per $1,000 is the 38th highest of 169 Iowa cities with 90–200 people. The middle of the group is $10.37.

See all 169

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Castana	$34.13	103
2	Brayton	$25.07	138
3	Harris	$23.13	145
4	Whitten	$22.65	98
5	Soldier	$21.92	176
6	Smithland	$21.12	184
7	Volga	$20.23	200
8	Coin	$19.59	171
9	Rowan	$19.53	118
10	Chester	$19.30	134
11	Bouton	$19.25	125
12	Ricketts	$19.22	105
13	Garden Grove	$19.20	173
14	Hastings	$18.95	157
15	Swaledale	$18.62	136
16	Jamaica	$18.24	196
17	Hillsboro	$17.68	158
18	Bristow	$17.39	139
19	Woolstock	$17.26	141
20	Prescott	$16.53	186
21	Monmouth	$16.41	129
22	Blockton	$16.37	123
23	Montour	$16.37	199
24	Geneva	$16.25	137
25	Waterville	$16.25	112
26	Little Sioux	$15.74	170
27	Moorhead	$15.68	186
28	Onslow	$15.63	198
29	Woodburn	$15.59	133
30	Kamrar	$15.47	178
31	Goodell	$15.16	139
32	Marne	$15.03	109
33	Baldwin	$14.91	99
34	Magnolia	$14.68	194
35	Davis City	$14.45	178
36	Lucas	$14.40	176
37	Westgate	$14.05	190
38	Palmer	$13.89	137
39	Ayrshire	$13.55	128
40	Searsboro	$13.55	129
41	Ferguson	$13.53	98
42	Lanesboro	$13.53	112
43	Calumet	$13.16	144
44	Portsmouth	$13.05	187
45	Delaware	$12.86	139
46	Patterson	$12.84	176
47	Clemons	$12.69	135
48	Millersburg	$12.40	135
49	Aurora	$12.40	165
50	Bridgewater	$12.29	145
51	Hanlontown	$12.17	200
52	Stout	$12.14	194
53	Arion	$12.14	99
54	Webb	$12.10	139
55	Decatur	$12.08	174
56	Rembrandt	$12.03	199
57	Shambaugh	$11.98	161
58	Lone Rock	$11.92	143
59	East Peru	$11.89	119
60	Henderson	$11.85	140
61	Parnell	$11.78	190
62	Reasnor	$11.76	157
63	Morley	$11.74	94
64	Ledyard	$11.74	118
65	Toronto	$11.68	101
66	Wadena	$11.65	201
67	Exline	$11.60	157
68	Beaman	$11.54	155
69	College Springs	$11.44	172
70	Melrose	$11.27	110
71	Linn Grove	$11.15	155
72	Dundee	$11.14	193
73	Randolph	$11.08	183
74	Leighton	$11.07	153
75	Rake	$11.05	179
76	Masonville	$11.00	98
77	Somers	$10.99	121
78	Havelock	$10.95	127
79	Alexander	$10.90	165
80	Lambs Grove	$10.78	174
81	Wallingford	$10.75	154
82	Woden	$10.68	183
83	Pacific Junction	$10.56	99
84	Barnes City	$10.44	152
85	Stockton	$10.37	171
86	Randall	$10.35	156
87	Meriden	$10.28	175
88	Drakesville	$10.24	170
89	North Washington	$10.23	107
90	Dawson	$10.19	110
91	Hancock	$10.13	199
92	Melvin	$10.05	196
93	Barnum	$9.96	186
94	Clare	$9.81	133
95	Tingley	$9.81	146
96	Rutland	$9.65	116
97	Van Wert	$9.62	175
98	Rock Falls	$9.61	143
99	Kirkville	$9.59	159
100	Superior	$9.58	127
101	Webster	$9.55	94
102	Martinsburg	$9.49	109
103	Larrabee	$9.41	116
104	Hamilton	$9.35	125
105	Floris	$9.29	119
106	Mitchell	$9.22	118
107	Westphalia	$9.18	133
108	Elberon	$9.16	178
109	Dixon	$9.03	204
110	Blairsburg	$8.93	175
111	Prairieburg	$8.91	156
112	Oakville	$8.89	198
113	Welton	$8.86	124
114	Archer	$8.84	116
115	Luther	$8.83	147
116	Fraser	$8.81	107
117	Macksburg	$8.81	103
118	Moorland	$8.61	169
119	Pilot Mound	$8.54	155
120	Ollie	$8.44	196
121	Thor	$8.38	182
122	Andover	$8.28	106
123	South English	$8.27	196
124	Thurman	$8.26	162
125	Boxholm	$8.11	177
126	Rome	$8.10	112
127	Carpenter	$8.10	92
128	Westfield	$8.10	121
129	Lineville	$8.10	194
130	Vincent	$8.09	125
131	Morrison	$7.86	101
132	Mount Auburn	$7.86	162
133	Haverhill	$7.86	164
134	Grand River	$7.86	192
135	Olds	$7.86	174
136	Dickens	$7.86	146
137	Castalia	$7.86	141
138	Rose Hill	$7.86	156
139	West Chester	$7.82	147
140	Cromwell	$7.81	104
141	Mcclelland	$7.79	147
142	Arispe	$7.71	95
143	Luzerne	$7.69	111
144	Lidderdale	$7.68	162
145	Westwood	$7.67	96
146	Bernard	$7.56	117
147	Braddyville	$7.49	142
148	Franklin	$7.31	133
149	Spragueville	$7.20	92
150	Weldon	$7.18	134
151	Brunsville	$6.95	128
152	Packwood	$6.77	186
153	Houghton	$6.73	129
154	Williamson	$6.72	126
155	Lincoln	$6.32	119
156	Gravity	$6.18	149
157	Ackworth	$5.90	117
158	Oakland Acres	$5.88	178
159	Springbrook	$5.79	145
160	Maysville	$5.77	155
161	Harper	$5.29	117
162	Panorama Park	$4.62	142
163	Keomah Village	$3.15	107
164	Mcintire	$2.78	115
165	Sherrill	$2.66	176
166	Centralia	$2.41	117
167	Rickardsville	$2.27	204
168	New Liberty	$2.27	141
169	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$50,44557%
Debt Service Levy$21,58424%
Liability, property & self insurance costs$9,85611%
Total Employee Benefit Levies$6,9008%

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Palmer’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 169 Iowa cities closest in size (90–200 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (169)
Business Type / Enterprise	77¢	26¢
General Government	6¢	24¢
Public Works	6¢	26¢
Culture and Recreation	4¢	8¢
Debt Service	3¢	2¢
Everything else	3¢	12¢

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$66,38535%
General Government$46,32324%
Culture and Recreation$38,95620%
Debt Service$21,90011%
Public Safety$11,2006%
Community and Economic Development$5,7003%
Health and Social Services$1,7501%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($617,000 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$47,618	$26,915
Public Safety	$12,830	$7,413
Health and Social Services	$1,550	$300
General Government	$37,720	$22,161
Debt Service	$17,898	$17,898
Culture and Recreation	$32,292	$25,506
Community and Economic Development	$2,158	$250
Capital Projects	$0	$0
Business Type / Enterprise	$145,855	$176,401

What it spent each year

$810,074

$276,844

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23

State money

What the state sends the city

Sales tax and property tax credits the state paid the city: up 7% since FY23; down 2% after inflation.

In today's dollarsActual dollars

Program	FY27	FY26	FY25	FY24	FY23
Local option sales tax	$1,130	$17,332	$15,817	$17,322	$16,240

Show the numbers

Program	FY27	FY26	FY25	FY24	FY23
Local option sales tax	$1,130	$17,332	$15,817	$17,322	$16,240

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

City · 2

Palmer City Council At-Large

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Tim Butcher Winner2536.2%
Melinda Habben Winner2333.3%
Bette Warnke Winner2130.4%

Palmer Mayor

Robert Rosenboom Winner2295.7%
Scattering 14.3%

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

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁴

Tim Kraayenbrink (Sen. 4)Wendy Larson (Rep. 7)

U.S. House:District 4

Pocahontas County Pocahontas Area 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. ↩
Legislative and congressional districts that cover Palmer; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Palmer 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.