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Local taxes › Tama County › Dysart

City

Dysart

Tama County · How cities work

$3,320 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($39.48 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$1,510 a yearof that goes to the city ($17.95 per $1,000)
$844,656property taxes the city levies, FY27
$2.6Mcity 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.

  • Jenn AlpersDysart City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Lydia GokenDysart City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Steven StonerDysart City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Mary WankowiczDysart City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Stacey DabneyDysart City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Timothy GlennDysart Mayor · 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 Dysart

Homes and businesses in most of Dysart pay a combined $39.48 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Tama County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $17.95. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$36.66$14.98
FY21$36.64$15.56
FY22$36.73$15.66
FY23$36.25$15.52
FY24$36.29$15.94
FY25$38.75$17.35
FY26$39.97$18.04
FY27$39.48$17.95
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$36.66$14.98
FY21$36.64$15.56
FY22$36.73$15.66
FY23$36.25$15.52
FY24$36.29$15.94
FY25$38.75$17.35
FY26$39.97$18.04
FY27$39.48$17.95

Compared with places this size3

Dysart’s city property tax rate of $17.95 per $1,000 is the 10th highest of 145 Iowa cities with 840–1,900 people. The middle of the group is $13.43.

Elkader: $27.11Laurens: $24.16Pocahontas: $20.79Villisca: $19.74Traer: $19.56Corning: $19.36Lake City: $19.32Allison: $19.06Corydon: $18.22Greene: $17.91Lansing: $17.67Strawberry Point: $17.58Rockwell: $17.54Gowrie: $17.17Colo: $17.14Mapleton: $16.90George: $16.89Manson: $16.87Fayette: $16.85Eddyville: $16.82Nashua: $16.81Ackley: $16.63Roland: $16.51Monona: $16.41Aplington: $16.34Durant: $16.24Panora: $16.14Mechanicsville: $16.12Dike: $15.94Armstrong: $15.87Holstein: $15.81State Center: $15.80Pleasantville: $15.80Earlham: $15.55Shell Rock: $15.52Brooklyn: $15.49Newell: $15.49Stuart: $15.48Mount Ayr: $15.32Neola: $15.30Guttenberg: $15.19Sidney: $15.19Logan: $15.05Griswold: $15.01Readlyn: $14.99Tripoli: $14.99Woodbine: $14.80Bedford: $14.66Lenox: $14.65Manning: $14.62Van Meter: $14.60Dunlap: $14.56Maxwell: $14.50Coon Rapids: $14.49Nora Springs: $14.25Kingsley: $14.25Urbana: $14.20Primghar: $14.18Sheffield: $14.16Hartley: $14.11Woodward: $14.05Guthrie Center: $14.04Alton: $13.87Montezuma: $13.79Victor: $13.72Gilbert: $13.71Edgewood: $13.64Donnellson: $13.63Clarksville: $13.53Avoca: $13.51Janesville: $13.43Glidden: $13.43Calmar: $13.39Baxter: $13.32Manly: $13.29Anita: $13.28Conrad: $13.23Springville: $13.22Keota: $13.21Shellsburg: $13.20De Soto: $13.18Treynor: $13.03Odebolt: $13.00Akron: $12.93Leon: $12.93Danville: $12.87Underwood: $12.85New Sharon: $12.80Slater: $12.79Malvern: $12.79Buffalo: $12.68Sanborn: $12.62New London: $12.56West Point: $12.39Hinton: $12.38Preston: $12.38Remsen: $12.32Reinbeck: $12.10Winfield: $12.04Elkhart: $12.00Afton: $11.96Tabor: $11.88Wellman: $11.88Aurelia: $11.84Blue Grass: $11.79Columbus Junction: $11.71Palo: $11.49Prairie City: $11.38Marcus: $11.31Mediapolis: $11.27Melcher-Dallas: $11.21University Heights: $11.12Hamburg: $10.95Clarence: $10.94Farley: $10.91Oakland: $10.85Moville: $10.67Cambridge: $10.53Swisher: $10.39Elk Run Heights: $10.33Walcott: $10.29Fredericksburg: $10.27Lake Park: $10.25Inwood: $10.22Central City: $10.01Newhall: $9.99Long Grove: $9.59Lake View: $9.39Paullina: $9.21Fairbank: $9.00Walford: $8.72Keosauqua: $8.58Princeton: $8.24Lone Tree: $8.13Riverside: $8.02Hills: $7.94Larchwood: $7.52North English: $7.49Sloan: $7.49Sully: $7.41Fruitland: $7.21Lawton: $7.10Wayland: $7.07Arnolds Park: $4.95Dysart: $17.95$4.95 lowest$27.11 highestmiddle
See all 145
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Elkader$27.111,192
2Laurens$24.161,253
3Pocahontas$20.791,848
4Villisca$19.741,106
5Traer$19.561,547
6Corning$19.361,509
7Lake City$19.321,656
8Allison$19.06937
9Corydon$18.221,563
10Dysart$17.951,266
11Greene$17.91971
12Lansing$17.67959
13Strawberry Point$17.581,141
14Rockwell$17.541,044
15Gowrie$17.17943
16Colo$17.14856
17Mapleton$16.901,114
18George$16.891,106
19Manson$16.871,646
20Fayette$16.851,193
21Eddyville$16.82965
22Nashua$16.811,515
23Ackley$16.631,538
24Roland$16.511,376
25Monona$16.411,462
26Aplington$16.341,088
27Durant$16.241,798
28Panora$16.141,096
29Mechanicsville$16.12974
30Dike$15.941,293
31Armstrong$15.87847
32Holstein$15.811,475
33State Center$15.801,403
34Pleasantville$15.801,696
35Earlham$15.551,411
36Shell Rock$15.521,265
37Brooklyn$15.491,474
38Newell$15.49850
39Stuart$15.481,887
40Mount Ayr$15.321,616
41Neola$15.30917
42Guttenberg$15.191,804
43Sidney$15.191,048
44Logan$15.051,351
45Griswold$15.01975
46Readlyn$14.99857
47Tripoli$14.991,208
48Woodbine$14.801,707
49Bedford$14.661,474
50Lenox$14.651,355
51Manning$14.621,390
52Van Meter$14.601,840
53Dunlap$14.561,030
54Maxwell$14.50862
55Coon Rapids$14.491,258
56Nora Springs$14.251,330
57Kingsley$14.251,394
58Urbana$14.201,635
59Primghar$14.18893
60Sheffield$14.161,123
61Hartley$14.111,584
62Woodward$14.051,383
63Guthrie Center$14.041,579
64Alton$13.871,248
65Montezuma$13.791,421
66Victor$13.72852
67Gilbert$13.711,397
68Edgewood$13.64908
69Donnellson$13.63859
70Clarksville$13.531,238
71Avoca$13.511,685
72Janesville$13.431,052
73Glidden$13.431,140
74Calmar$13.391,100
75Baxter$13.32983
76Manly$13.291,233
77Anita$13.28953
78Conrad$13.231,098
79Springville$13.221,161
80Keota$13.21888
81Shellsburg$13.20987
82De Soto$13.18937
83Treynor$13.031,104
84Odebolt$13.00967
85Akron$12.931,545
86Leon$12.931,779
87Danville$12.87910
88Underwood$12.85973
89New Sharon$12.801,249
90Slater$12.791,626
91Malvern$12.791,056
92Buffalo$12.681,163
93Sanborn$12.621,463
94New London$12.561,853
95West Point$12.39903
96Hinton$12.38959
97Preston$12.38940
98Remsen$12.321,681
99Reinbeck$12.101,673
100Winfield$12.041,006
101Elkhart$12.001,079
102Afton$11.96864
103Tabor$11.88983
104Wellman$11.881,531
105Aurelia$11.84970
106Blue Grass$11.791,707
107Columbus Junction$11.711,794
108Palo$11.491,554
109Prairie City$11.381,722
110Marcus$11.311,069
111Mediapolis$11.271,679
112Melcher-Dallas$11.211,193
113University Heights$11.121,188
114Hamburg$10.95863
115Clarence$10.94991
116Farley$10.911,723
117Oakland$10.851,519
118Moville$10.671,707
119Cambridge$10.53844
120Swisher$10.39909
121Elk Run Heights$10.331,061
122Walcott$10.291,556
123Fredericksburg$10.27983
124Lake Park$10.251,155
125Inwood$10.22962
126Central City$10.011,254
127Newhall$9.99887
128Long Grove$9.59849
129Lake View$9.391,120
130Paullina$9.21979
131Fairbank$9.001,133
132Walford$8.721,357
133Keosauqua$8.58944
134Princeton$8.24917
135Lone Tree$8.131,341
136Riverside$8.021,063
137Hills$7.94911
138Larchwood$7.52954
139North English$7.491,030
140Sloan$7.491,078
141Sully$7.41891
142Fruitland$7.21928
143Lawton$7.10949
144Wayland$7.07935
145Arnolds Park$4.951,214

The $8.10 limit

Dysart’s general levy is $8.10 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, at the limit.4 247 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

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

Outside the limit: $9.85 more5

  • Debt Service Levy$5.77 · $289,901
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$3.16 · $143,904
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$0.91 · $41,682

Tax increment financing (TIF)

$5.2M of taxable value in Dysart is in TIF districts’ increment (10% of the city’s taxable value), 2025 valuations, taxed in FY27.6 It budgeted $43,127 in TIF revenue for FY25.

$77,072
$48,333

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 $62,928 of the city’s own.

  • Union schools$47,418
  • Tama County$40,594
YearTIF revenue
FY16$77,072
FY17$68,609
FY18$65,281
FY19$66,029
FY20$67,274
FY21$47,712
FY22$45,255
FY23$48,333
Show the numbers
YearTIF revenue
FY16$77,072
FY17$68,609
FY18$65,281
FY19$66,029
FY20$67,274
FY21$47,712
FY22$45,255
FY23$48,333

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$369,16944%
  • Debt Service Levy$289,90134%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$143,90417%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$41,6825%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Dysart’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 42¢ of every dollar42¢Capital Projects: 17¢ of every dollar17¢Public Safety: 16¢ of every dollar16¢Debt Service: 10¢ of every dollar10¢Public Works: 7¢ of every dollar7¢Everything else: 7¢ of every dollar7¢

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 (840–1,900 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (144)
Business Type / Enterprise42¢41¢
Capital Projects17¢11¢
Public Safety16¢10¢
Debt Service10¢6¢
Public Works7¢13¢
Everything else7¢19¢

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$818,83631%
  • Capital Projects$549,21321%
  • Debt Service$452,95417%
  • Public Works$409,60516%
  • Culture and Recreation$255,47610%
  • General Government$86,1833%
  • Community and Economic Development$48,0732%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($2.0M in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$162,265$231,009
Public Safety$611,235$767,672
Health and Social Services$0$0
General Government$67,778$67,532
Debt Service$409,017$402,548
Culture and Recreation$226,515$237,184
Community and Economic Development$35,500$27,514
Capital Projects$650,000$684,687
Business Type / Enterprise$7.0M$6.1M

What it spent each year

FY24 left out8

$8.5M
$6.9M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Dysart owes

$6.8M at June 30, 2026: $5,306 per resident. 108th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).9

$7.9M
$6.8M
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$6.8M$5,306
2025$7.4M$5,771
2024$7.4M$5,774
2023$7.9M$6,170
2022$2.2M$1,737
2021$2.0M$1,569
2020$1.8M$1,436
2019$1.7M$1,319
2018$2.0M$1,561
2017$2.3M$1,799
2016$2.1M$1,639
2015$2.4M$1,835
2014$2.2M$1,729
2013$2.4M$1,905
2012$2.1M$1,628
2011$2.3M$1,811
2010$2.5M$1,991
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$6.8M$5,306
2025$7.4M$5,771
2024$7.4M$5,774
2023$7.9M$6,170
2022$2.2M$1,737
2021$2.0M$1,569
2020$1.8M$1,436
2019$1.7M$1,319
2018$2.0M$1,561
2017$2.3M$1,799
2016$2.1M$1,639
2015$2.4M$1,835
2014$2.2M$1,729
2013$2.4M$1,905
2012$2.1M$1,628
2011$2.3M$1,811
2010$2.5M$1,991

Up 167% since 2010.

The 5% limit10

General obligation debt is $2.9M, 58% of the limit of about $5.0M (5% of $99.4M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

8 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
Revenue Bonds'22 SRF Lagoon Improvements2042$3.9M
General Obligation'24 Jefferson St. reconstruction with water and sewer improvements2039$1.3M
General Obligation'22 Crisman Street reconstruction w/ sewer, storm water & water.2035$525,000
General Obligation'21 Chip Seal Program & Street Sweeper Purchase2028$380,000
General Obligation'20 Connell Street reconstruction and sewer repairs2027$265,000
General Obligation'19 West Street reconstruction and sanitary sewer install.2031$230,000
General Obligation'13 Street, storm sewer and curb & gutter improvements2028$90,000
General Obligation'17 street and storm sewer improvements2027$60,000

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. Dysart’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 Monday, March 23, 2026, by a CPA firm.

16 earlier reports for Dysart

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: $181,927 in FY25, down 3% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 23% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$179,521$176,280$180,945$181,927
Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”)$760–$3,378–

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.

$49,404
  • CEBA grants$38,00777%
  • Iowa DOT projects$5,87012%
  • Other$4,0278%
  • State grants$1,5003%
YearGrants and projects
FY19$5,882
FY20$13,707
FY21$4,147
FY22$28,355
FY23$30,582
FY24$36,520
FY25$49,404
Show the numbers
YearGrants and projects
FY19$5,882
FY20$13,707
FY21$4,147
FY22$28,355
FY23$30,582
FY24$36,520
FY25$49,404

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−19%$178,147 → $181,927, up 2% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 19% 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 26% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 0% more.

$159,540
$127,791

Federal grants, for comparison: $49,706 in FY25.

Business awards

Every award 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)14.

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 · 1

3 seats: the top 3 win.

1 more →

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Dysart; 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.

  • Dysart City Council At-Large (2 seats)
    Now held by Stacey Dabney, Mary Wankowicz
  • Dysart Mayor
    Now held by Timothy Glenn

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here15.

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 ballot16.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress17

Dave Sires (Sen. 38)Derek Wulf (Rep. 76)

U.S. House:District 2

Tama CountyUnion schools