City

Arispe

$2,920 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($34.67 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$650 a yearof that goes to the city ($7.71 per $1,000)

$23,844property taxes the city levies, FY27

$47,470city budget, all funds, FY27²

Who runs it

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

Ernie AbellArispe City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Kathy GrovesArispe City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Tom HansenArispe City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Rodney MeinkeArispe City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Roger CheersArispe Mayor · elected November 7, 2023
Sandy FryArispe 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 Arispe

Homes and businesses in most of Arispe pay a combined $34.67 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Union County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $7.71. Estimate your bill.

East Union schools$15.6045%
City of Arispe$7.7122%
Union County$7.6522%
Union County Greater Community Hosp$1.655%
Southwestern Community College$1.073%
Union County Assessor$0.682%
Union County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.31<1%

Rates over time

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

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$37.34	$6.65
FY21	$38.11	$7.07
FY22	$36.68	$6.20
FY23	$36.20	$6.33
FY24	$29.43	$0.00
FY25	$37.35	$8.10
FY26	$36.58	$7.86
FY27	$34.67	$7.71

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$37.34	$6.65
FY21	$38.11	$7.07
FY22	$36.68	$6.20
FY23	$36.20	$6.33
FY24	$29.43	$0.00
FY25	$37.35	$8.10
FY26	$36.58	$7.86
FY27	$34.67	$7.71

Compared with places this size³

Arispe’s city property tax rate of $7.71 per $1,000 is the 31st lowest of 124 Iowa cities with 60–140 people. The middle of the group is $9.45.

See all 124

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Castana	$34.13	103
2	Brayton	$25.07	138
3	Hansell	$23.66	85
4	Whitten	$22.65	98
5	Stanley	$20.69	86
6	Rowan	$19.53	118
7	Chester	$19.30	134
8	Bouton	$19.25	125
9	Ricketts	$19.22	105
10	Varina	$19.09	69
11	Sharpsburg	$18.93	69
12	Grant	$18.71	82
13	Swaledale	$18.62	136
14	Derby	$18.13	89
15	Bristow	$17.39	139
16	Woolstock	$17.26	141
17	Monmouth	$16.41	129
18	Blockton	$16.37	123
19	Geneva	$16.25	137
20	Waterville	$16.25	112
21	Popejoy	$15.80	76
22	Woodburn	$15.59	133
23	Goodell	$15.16	139
24	Marne	$15.03	109
25	Baldwin	$14.91	99
26	Truesdale	$14.56	64
27	Palmer	$13.89	137
28	Ayrshire	$13.55	128
29	Searsboro	$13.55	129
30	Ferguson	$13.53	98
31	Lanesboro	$13.53	112
32	Delaware	$12.86	139
33	Clemons	$12.69	135
34	Cylinder	$12.52	84
35	Millersburg	$12.40	135
36	Arion	$12.14	99
37	Webb	$12.10	139
38	East Peru	$11.89	119
39	Henderson	$11.85	140
40	Morley	$11.74	94
41	Ledyard	$11.74	118
42	Toronto	$11.68	101
43	Matlock	$11.44	74
44	Melrose	$11.27	110
45	Nodaway	$11.20	74
46	Promise City	$11.13	91
47	Masonville	$11.00	98
48	Somers	$10.99	121
49	Havelock	$10.95	127
50	Numa	$10.80	69
51	Pacific Junction	$10.56	99
52	Oto	$10.45	71
53	Bradgate	$10.37	76
54	North Washington	$10.23	107
55	Dawson	$10.19	110
56	Hartwick	$9.90	91
57	Clare	$9.81	133
58	Rutland	$9.65	116
59	Superior	$9.58	127
60	Webster	$9.55	94
61	Nemaha	$9.53	65
62	Martinsburg	$9.49	109
63	Larrabee	$9.41	116
64	Hamilton	$9.35	125
65	Wiota	$9.32	91
66	Floris	$9.29	119
67	Mitchell	$9.22	118
68	Westphalia	$9.18	133
69	Welton	$8.86	124
70	Archer	$8.84	116
71	Fraser	$8.81	107
72	Macksburg	$8.81	103
73	Andover	$8.28	106
74	Carpenter	$8.10	92
75	Chillicothe	$8.10	79
76	Clio	$8.10	67
77	Orchard	$8.10	64
78	Rome	$8.10	112
79	Scarville	$8.10	75
80	Shannon City	$8.10	73
81	Struble	$8.10	72
82	Turin	$8.10	69
83	Unionville	$8.10	74
84	Westfield	$8.10	121
85	Vincent	$8.09	125
86	Buckeye	$7.94	82
87	Redding	$7.86	64
88	Morrison	$7.86	101
89	Oyens	$7.86	88
90	Castalia	$7.86	141
91	Ralston	$7.86	76
92	Chatsworth	$7.86	72
93	Cromwell	$7.81	104
94	Arispe	$7.71	95
95	Luzerne	$7.69	111
96	Westwood	$7.67	96
97	Kinross	$7.57	80
98	Bernard	$7.56	117
99	Braddyville	$7.49	142
100	Garber	$7.35	76
101	Franklin	$7.31	133
102	Spring Hill	$7.26	68
103	Greenville	$7.24	69
104	Spragueville	$7.20	92
105	Weldon	$7.18	134
106	Craig	$7.01	78
107	Brunsville	$6.95	128
108	Zwingle	$6.93	86
109	Pleasant Plain	$6.79	83
110	Houghton	$6.73	129
111	Williamson	$6.72	126
112	Willey	$6.69	72
113	Lincoln	$6.32	119
114	Tennant	$6.29	83
115	Ackworth	$5.90	117
116	Harper	$5.29	117
117	Panorama Park	$4.62	142
118	Keomah Village	$3.15	107
119	Mcintire	$2.78	115
120	Graf	$2.56	76
121	Centralia	$2.41	117
122	New Liberty	$2.27	141
123	North Buena Vista	$1.78	107
124	Balltown	$0.12	78

The $8.10 limit

Arispe’s general levy is $7.71 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.39 below the limit.⁴ 732 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

$8.10

FY23 $6.33 · FY25 $8.10 · FY26 $7.86 · FY27 $7.71 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

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$23,465100%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Arispe’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 125 Iowa cities closest in size (60–140 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (125)
General Government	51¢	27¢
Public Works	27¢	30¢
Culture and Recreation	12¢	7¢
Public Safety	7¢	9¢
Community and Economic Development	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.

General Government$19,50041%
Public Works$15,30032%
Culture and Recreation$10,69023%
Public Safety$1,8004%
Community and Economic Development$1800%

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$31,850	$11,289
Public Safety	$2,100	$1,971
Health and Social Services	$0	$0
General Government	$12,000	$14,626
Debt Service	$0	$0
Culture and Recreation	$5,150	$5,812
Community and Economic Development	$8,000	$466
Capital Projects	$0	$0
Business Type / Enterprise	$0	$0

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁵

$39,776

$22,595

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Arispe owes

No debt at June 30, 2026.⁶

June 30	Owed	Per resident
2026	$0	$0
2025	$0	$0
2024	$0	$0
2023	$0	$0
2022	$0	$0
2021	$0	$0
2020	$0	$0
2019	$0	$0
2018	$0	$0
2017	$0	$0
2016	$0	$0
2015	$0	$0
2014	$0	$0
2013	$0	$0
2012	$0	$0
2011	$0	$0
2010	$0	$0

Show the numbers

June 30	Owed	Per resident
2026	$0	$0
2025	$0	$0
2024	$0	$0
2023	$0	$0
2022	$0	$0
2021	$0	$0
2020	$0	$0
2019	$0	$0
2018	$0	$0
2017	$0	$0
2016	$0	$0
2015	$0	$0
2014	$0	$0
2013	$0	$0
2012	$0	$0
2011	$0	$0
2010	$0	$0

The 5% limit⁷

General obligation debt is $0, 0% of the limit of about $273,861 (5% of $5.5M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

Money in reserve

The state’s budget files don’t include cities’ fund balances⁸. Arispe’s latest audit has them: Periodic Examination, period ending Thursday, June 30, 2022 (PDF).

Audits⁹

The latest: Periodic Examination for the period ending Thursday, June 30, 2022 (PDF), released Friday, February 10, 2023, by the Auditor of State.

1 earlier report for Arispe

Periodic Examination, period ending Friday, June 30, 2017Wednesday, November 15, 2017

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? ¹⁰

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: $8,814 in FY25, up 8% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 14% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$8,423	$8,524	$8,767	$8,814

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−14%$8,133 → $8,814, up 8% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 14% 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 38% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 10% more.

$15,728

$14,831

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)¹¹.

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

Arispe City Council At-Large

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Kathy Groves Winner1943.2%
Tom Hansen Winner1943.2%
Ernie Abell Winner36.8%
Mason Fry 36.8%

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Arispe; 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.

Arispe City Council At-Large (2 seats)
Now held by Sandy Fry, Rodney Meinke
Arispe Mayor
Now held by Roger Cheers

Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here¹².

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 ballot¹³.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress¹⁴

Tom Shipley (Sen. 9)Devon Wood (Rep. 17)

U.S. House:District 3

Union County East Union 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. ↩
The state’s FY24 spending file repeats the year before for nearly every Iowa city, so that year isn’t shown. ↩
From the reports each government files with the Treasurer of State’s debt reporting site. “Per resident” divides by the population the site lists, the same figure for every year, so the trend shows the debt itself changing. ↩
Article XI, section 3 of the Iowa Constitution limits a county, city or school district’s debt to 5% of the value of the taxable property in it. Iowa applies the limit to the full (100%) value, before the rollback, and it covers general obligation debt, backed by property taxes; revenue bonds repaid only from fees, like water bills, don’t count. Iowa Funnel compares general obligation debt with 5% of the value two years earlier, as the last tax lists before the year; a government’s own bond documents state its exact figure. ↩
The Department of Management’s city budget and annual report files on the Iowa Data Hub give revenue and spending by city, but no beginning or ending fund balances. A city’s audit or annual financial report has them, in its statement of net position and its fund balance schedules. ↩
From the Auditor of State’s list of audit reports. Every Iowa city, county and school district is audited or examined: larger ones each year by a CPA firm or the Auditor of State, small cities every few years. Findings are problems the auditors report, from weak controls over cash to breaking a law. ↩
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. ↩
Iowa Code §376.4(1)(a): nomination papers are filed 71 to 47 days before the election, by 5:00 p.m. on the last day. Cities that may hold a primary election file earlier: 85 to 68 days before. ↩
Expected seats come from when each seat was last elected and its term. Filed candidates come from civicAPI and, in Black Hawk, Johnson and Scott counties, the auditor’s published candidate list, read weekly while filing is open. Check with the county auditor or city clerk before relying on it. Only names are shown. ↩
Iowa Code §39.2(4) (2026), paragraph d: “For any political subdivision of this state, if the special election is in whole or in part for the question of issuing bonds or other indebtedness, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.” This applies to bond elections on or after July 1, 2023. Subsection 2 adds that “a special election for a city, school district, or merged area shall not be scheduled to coincide with the general election.” A few kinds of elections follow their own rules (“unless otherwise provided by law”). ↩
Legislative and congressional districts that cover Arispe; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Arispe 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.

Arispe

Who runs it

Meetings and agendas

Property taxes

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Arispe

Rates over time

Compared with places this size3

The $8.10 limit

The city’s levies, FY27

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Arispe’s budget goes, FY26

Planned spending, FY27

What it spent each year

Debt, reserves and audits

What Arispe owes

The 5% limit7

Money in reserve

Audits9

State money

What the state pays the city every year

Has it kept up with prices?

Collected by the state for the city

Business awards

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

Who has filed for Tuesday, November 2, 2027

Past ballot measures

When a measure can be on the ballot

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress14

Compared with places this size³

The 5% limit⁷

Audits⁹

At the Statehouse and in Congress¹⁴