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Local taxes › Story County › Ames

City

Ames

Story County · How cities work

$2,610 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($30.98 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$870 a yearof that goes to the city ($10.27 per $1,000)
$39.8Mproperty taxes the city levies, FY27
$110.2Mcity 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.

  • Amber CorrieriAmes City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Bronwyn Beatty-HansenAmes City Council Ward 1 · elected November 4, 2025
  • Gloria J BetcherAmes City Council Ward 3 · elected November 4, 2025
  • John HailaAmes Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • Anita RollinsAmes City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Rachel JunckAmes City Council Ward 4 · elected November 7, 2023
  • Timothy L. GartinAmes City Council Ward 2 · elected November 7, 2023
  • Beth SwensonAmes City Hospital Trustee · elected November 4, 2025
  • Mary KitchellAmes City Hospital Trustee · elected November 4, 2025
  • Austin D. M. WoodinAmes City Hospital Trustee · elected November 7, 2023
  • Kenneth McCuskeyAmes City Hospital Trustee · elected November 7, 2023
  • Natallia GrayAmes City Hospital Trustee · 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 Ames

Homes and businesses in most of Ames pay a combined $30.88 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Story County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $10.27. Estimate your bill.

  • Ames schools$13.9745%
  • City of Ames$10.2733%
  • Story County$4.3414%
  • Story County Hospital$1.083%
  • Des Moines Area Community College$0.813%
  • Ames City Assessor$0.30<1%
  • Story County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.11<1%

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$31.52$10.03
FY21$31.49$10.15
FY22$31.19$9.87
FY23$30.70$9.83
FY24$31.17$10.20
FY25$30.65$10.09
FY26$30.53$10.30
FY27$30.98$10.27
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$31.52$10.03
FY21$31.49$10.15
FY22$31.19$9.87
FY23$30.70$9.83
FY24$31.17$10.20
FY25$30.65$10.09
FY26$30.53$10.30
FY27$30.98$10.27

Compared with places this size3

Ames’s city property tax rate of $10.27 per $1,000 is the 4th lowest of 10 Iowa cities with 48,000–101,000 people. The middle of the group is $13.12.

Waterloo: $21.77Council Bluffs: $17.48Davenport: $16.58Sioux City: $15.51Iowa City: $15.43West Des Moines: $10.80Dubuque: $10.06Urbandale: $9.98Ankeny: $9.90Ames: $10.27$9.90 lowest$21.77 highestmiddle
See all 10
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Waterloo$21.7767,477
2Council Bluffs$17.4862,665
3Davenport$16.58100,938
4Sioux City$15.5186,875
5Iowa City$15.4376,710
6West Des Moines$10.8073,664
7Ames$10.2769,026
8Dubuque$10.0658,987
9Urbandale$9.9847,759
10Ankeny$9.9076,727

The $8.10 limit

Ames’s general levy is $6.26 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $1.84 below the limit.4 884 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $5.51 · FY24 $6.34 · FY25 $6.22 · FY26 $6.39 · FY27 $6.26 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $4.01 more5

  • Debt Service Levy$3.42 · $13.3M
  • Opr & Maint publicly owned Transit$0.59 · $2.3M

Tax increment financing (TIF)

$34.2M of taxable value in Ames is in TIF districts’ increment (1% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.6 It budgeted $418,000 in TIF revenue for FY25.

$1.9M
$1.2M

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 $234,282 of the city’s own.

  • Gilbert schools$207,715
  • Story County$144,182
  • Ames schools$136,406
YearTIF revenue
FY16$41,286
FY17$241,161
FY18$594,020
FY19$870,319
FY20$1.2M
FY21$1.9M
FY22$1.9M
FY23$1.2M
Show the numbers
YearTIF revenue
FY16$41,286
FY17$241,161
FY18$594,020
FY19$870,319
FY20$1.2M
FY21$1.9M
FY22$1.9M
FY23$1.2M

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$24.2M61%
  • Debt Service Levy$13.3M34%
  • Opr & Maint publicly owned Transit$2.3M6%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Ames’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 80¢ of every dollar80¢Capital Projects: 6¢ of every dollarPublic Safety: 5¢ of every dollarDebt Service: 3¢ of every dollarCulture and Recreation: 2¢ of every dollarEverything else: 4¢ of every dollar

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 9 Iowa cities closest in size (48,000–101,000 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (9)
Business Type / Enterprise80¢29¢
Capital Projects6¢20¢
Public Safety5¢17¢
Debt Service3¢9¢
Culture and Recreation2¢5¢
Everything else4¢18¢

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$33.6M30%
  • Public Safety$25.4M23%
  • Debt Service$15.7M14%
  • Culture and Recreation$13.0M12%
  • Public Works$9.7M9%
  • Community and Economic Development$6.9M6%
  • General Government$3.8M3%
  • Health and Social Services$2.1M2%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($418.1M in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$8.1M$7.9M
Public Safety$21.8M$20.7M
Health and Social Services$1.8M$1.7M
General Government$3.6M$3.6M
Debt Service$12.3M$12.4M
Culture and Recreation$9.8M$9.6M
Community and Economic Development$4.6M$4.6M
Capital Projects$41.9M$30.4M
Business Type / Enterprise$348.6M$332.3M

What it spent each year

FY24 left out8

$524.4M

Ames’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

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Ames owes

$251.1M at June 30, 2026: $3,780 per resident. 205th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).9

$251.1M
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$251.1M$3,780
2025$229.7M$3,458
2024$219.6M$3,307
2023$215.9M$3,250
2022$213.4M$3,212
2021$223.7M$3,367
2020$204.6M$3,081
2019$211.4M$3,182
2018$215.8M$3,249
2017$221.7M$3,338
2016$195.9M$2,949
2015$162.1M$2,440
2014$157.3M$2,367
2013$163.3M$2,458
2012$62.9M$947
2011$65.3M$982
2010$67.1M$1,011
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$251.1M$3,780
2025$229.7M$3,458
2024$219.6M$3,307
2023$215.9M$3,250
2022$213.4M$3,212
2021$223.7M$3,367
2020$204.6M$3,081
2019$211.4M$3,182
2018$215.8M$3,249
2017$221.7M$3,338
2016$195.9M$2,949
2015$162.1M$2,440
2014$157.3M$2,367
2013$163.3M$2,458
2012$62.9M$947
2011$65.3M$982
2010$67.1M$1,011

Up 274% since 2010.

The 5% limit10

General obligation debt is $75.9M, 23% of the limit of about $331.0M (5% of $6.62B, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

27 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
Revenue BondsRefund 2011 bonds2036$46.7M
LoansNutrient Reduction2046$43.1M
LoansWater Plant2030$35.8M
Revenue BondsHealth Care2034$20.3M
General ObligationAquatic Center, street/traffic equipment, park improvements, airport improvements2044$15.9M
General ObligationStreets, street lighting, signage & signalization, trail improvements, airport improvements, fire station improvements2037$11.4M
General Obligationstreets and traffic control improvements, current refund GO 2013A2033$10.7M
General Obligationconstructing street, alley, bridge, sidewalk, storm water drainage, sewer, water system2035$9.4M
LoansWater Wells2043$8.8M
General Obligationconstructing street, alley, bridge, sidewalk, storm water drainage, lighting signage, fire equipment & vehicles2034$8.7M
General Obligationstreets, sewers, traffic, fire apparatus, 10A, 11B, 12A refunding2032$6.7M
LoansSewer Replacement2042$6.7M
General ObligationStreets, Sanitary Sewers, Bridges, and Emergency Services Communication Equipment2031$4.8M
LoansSanitary Sewer Manhole Covers2038$3.5M
LoansSewer Replacement2042$3.2M
General Obligationstreet improvements, emergency services communication equipment, fire station improvements2030$2.9M
Loanswater plant demolition2042$2.3M
General Obligationstreets, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, bridges, 09 GO refunding2029$2.0M
General Obligationstreets, bridges, water main, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, airport terminal,flood, 06 & 07 GO refunding2035$1.8M
General Obligationstreets, bridges, water main, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, airport terminal,flood, 08 GO refunding2028$1.7M
LoansSewer Basin 122043$1.3M
Revenue BondsImprovements to the municipal electric light & Power plant2027$940,000
LoansSewer2030$909,000
Revenue Bondsrefund the 2003 revenue bonds and finance hospital expansion2027$495,000
Loansbar screening system2038$480,000
LoansLift Station Project2036$340,000
LoansCreek Restoration2042$317,000

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. Ames’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 Friday, February 13, 2026, by a CPA firm.

16 earlier reports for Ames

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: $9.8M in FY25, up 28% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 2% more. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$8.8M$9.2M$9.4M$9.4M
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)$1.3M–$429,668$432,131

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.

$13.3M
$2.6M
  • State grants$2.1M80%
  • State Replacement Funds$390,63315%
  • Other State Revenue$145,8626%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$4.0M
FY20$5.4M
FY21$13.3M
FY22$6.6M
FY23$10.7M
FY24$5.6M
FY25$2.6M
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$4.0M
FY20$5.4M
FY21$13.3M
FY22$6.6M
FY23$10.7M
FY24$5.6M
FY25$2.6M

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−2%$7.7M → $9.4M, up 23% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 2% 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.

$12.0M
$11.9M

Federal grants, for comparison: $13.8M in FY25.

Business awards

Every award statewide

State economic development awards

2 businesses have state awards in AMES: $1.8M in grants, loans and tax benefits, for 47 jobs. Closed projects promised 32 jobs; 32 were there at the end.14

  • 3M Company
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY24 · Not going ahead: Contract ended · 25 jobs required
    $547K
  • Berdex USA
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY22 · Not going ahead: Contract ended · 20 jobs required
    $57K
  • Perfect Flight
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY21 · Not going ahead: Declined or withdrawn · 60 jobs required
    $319K
  • Amcor Rigid Plastics USA, Inc.
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY20 · Under contract: Keeping the jobs · 15 jobs required, 15 reported
    $173K
  • Vertex Software, LLC
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY19 · Not going ahead: Declined or withdrawn · 300 jobs required
    $3.4M
  • 3M Company
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY19 · Not going ahead: Contract ended · 16 jobs required
    $2.1M
  • Smart Ag, Inc.
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY19 · Not going ahead: Declined or withdrawn · 80 jobs required
    $330K
  • Barilla America, Inc.
    High Quality Jobs Program · FY17 · Closed: Paid some back · 32 jobs required, 32 at the end
    $1.6M

Community college new jobs training: 47 contracts since 2006 worth $16.3M, for 1,651 pledged jobs.

Awards statewide

Elections

Running for mayor and city council

Filing opens Monday, August 23, 2027: in 285 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

Ballot measures · 1

Passed Yes 86.7% (5,099) · No 13.3% (782)

Passes with more yes votes than no.

City · 5

2 seats: the top 2 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Ames; 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.

  • Ames City Council At-Large
    Now held by Anita Rollins
  • Ames City Council Ward 1
    Now held by Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
  • Ames City Council Ward 2
    Now held by Timothy L. Gartin
  • Ames City Council Ward 3
    Now held by Gloria J. Betcher
  • Ames City Council Ward 4
    Now held by Rachel Junck
  • Ames City Hospital Trustee (3 seats)
    Now held by Austin D. M. Woodin, Natallia Gray, Kenneth McCuskey

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

Past ballot measures

  • Public Measure BNovember 4, 2025

    Passed Yes 86.7% (5,099) · No 13.3% (782)

    Passes with more yes votes than no.

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

Herman C. Quirmbach (Sen. 25)Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (Rep. 49, 89%)Ross Wilburn (Rep. 50, 11%)

U.S. House:District 4

Story CountyAmes schoolsGilbert schoolsNevada schoolsUnited schools