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Local taxes › Wapello County › Eldon

City

Eldon

Wapello County · How cities work

$3,580 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($42.56 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$1,380 a yearof that goes to the city ($16.42 per $1,000)
$260,193property taxes the city levies, FY27
$561,434city 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.

  • Andrew BirchEldon City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Craig BrownEldon City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Randy Lee McClureEldon Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • David ShowmanEldon City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Stacey Cremer DoreeEldon City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Tom BedfordEldon 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 Eldon

Homes and businesses in most of Eldon pay a combined $42.56 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Wapello County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $16.42. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$42.43$16.64
FY21$43.80$16.98
FY22$42.63$16.87
FY23$42.65$17.31
FY24$40.82$16.91
FY25$43.24$18.67
FY26$43.05$17.66
FY27$42.56$16.42
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$42.43$16.64
FY21$43.80$16.98
FY22$42.63$16.87
FY23$42.65$17.31
FY24$40.82$16.91
FY25$43.24$18.67
FY26$43.05$17.66
FY27$42.56$16.42

Compared with places this size3

Eldon’s city property tax rate of $16.42 per $1,000 is the 30th highest of 182 Iowa cities with 530–1,200 people. The middle of the group is $12.78.

Exira: $24.81Dayton: $22.51Correctionville: $19.84Villisca: $19.74Allison: $19.06Dumont: $19.04Seymour: $18.78Dexter: $18.69Fonda: $18.52Kanawha: $18.11Swea City: $18.04Greene: $17.91Alden: $17.90New Hartford: $17.69Lansing: $17.67Strawberry Point: $17.58Rockwell: $17.54Walnut: $17.46Murray: $17.44Gowrie: $17.17Colo: $17.14Mapleton: $16.90George: $16.89Adair: $16.84Eddyville: $16.82Elk Horn: $16.78Oxford: $16.70Buffalo Center: $16.58Bancroft: $16.52Early: $16.35Aplington: $16.34Panora: $16.14Mechanicsville: $16.12Armstrong: $15.87Ruthven: $15.84Minden: $15.77Walker: $15.74Newell: $15.49Riceville: $15.31Neola: $15.30Sidney: $15.19Gilbertville: $15.15Stanwood: $15.12Stratford: $15.03Griswold: $15.01Readlyn: $14.99Wyoming: $14.81Hopkinton: $14.79Essex: $14.76Dunlap: $14.56Garnavillo: $14.52Maxwell: $14.50Clermont: $14.30Moulton: $14.25Mcgregor: $14.20Olin: $14.19Primghar: $14.18Sheffield: $14.16Elgin: $14.05Ossian: $13.88Redfield: $13.73Victor: $13.72Edgewood: $13.64Sioux Rapids: $13.63Donnellson: $13.63Gladbrook: $13.58Rockford: $13.52Janesville: $13.43Glidden: $13.43Calmar: $13.39Boyden: $13.39Baxter: $13.32Anita: $13.28Van Horne: $13.27Conrad: $13.23Springville: $13.22Keota: $13.21Shellsburg: $13.20De Soto: $13.18Quasqueton: $13.12Farmington: $13.10Anthon: $13.05Treynor: $13.03Odebolt: $13.00Coggon: $12.99Earlville: $12.90Brighton: $12.88Danville: $12.87Underwood: $12.85Malvern: $12.79Montrose: $12.78Goldfield: $12.73Wellsburg: $12.68Buffalo: $12.68Delmar: $12.68Badger: $12.67Stanton: $12.62Hospers: $12.58Everly: $12.51Hazleton: $12.48West Point: $12.39Hinton: $12.38Preston: $12.38Alburnett: $12.30Hubbard: $12.30Moravia: $12.27Hedrick: $12.22Carson: $12.22Wheatland: $12.18Schaller: $12.14Winfield: $12.04Elkhart: $12.00Afton: $11.96Lowden: $11.93Tabor: $11.88Albert City: $11.88Aurelia: $11.84Merrill: $11.64Morning Sun: $11.50Battle Creek: $11.49Wall Lake: $11.43West Bend: $11.42Dakota City: $11.39Marcus: $11.31Dunkerton: $11.30Sutherland: $11.25Arcadia: $11.23Whiting: $11.21Shelby: $11.17Blairstown: $11.04Manilla: $11.01Hamburg: $10.95Clarence: $10.94Ireton: $10.93Fontanelle: $10.88Richland: $10.82Grand Mound: $10.78Cambridge: $10.53Swisher: $10.39Schleswig: $10.39Melbourne: $10.38Radcliffe: $10.37Elk Run Heights: $10.33Fredericksburg: $10.27Lake Park: $10.25Ventura: $10.22Inwood: $10.22Milo: $10.20Hartford: $10.16What Cheer: $10.01Newhall: $9.99Cumming: $9.85Graettinger: $9.81Doon: $9.78Long Grove: $9.59Lake View: $9.39Paullina: $9.21Fairbank: $9.00Winthrop: $8.94Crescent: $8.72Keosauqua: $8.58Grand Junction: $8.57Princeton: $8.24Gilman: $8.10Kellogg: $8.10Lakeside: $8.10Riverside: $8.02Agency: $7.94Hills: $7.94Fremont: $7.86Larchwood: $7.52North English: $7.49Sloan: $7.49Sully: $7.41Fruitland: $7.21Lawton: $7.10Wayland: $7.07Raymond: $6.85Keystone: $6.80Shueyville: $6.79Okoboji: $3.83Eldon: $16.42$3.83 lowest$24.81 highestmiddle
See all 182
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Exira$24.81766
2Dayton$22.51766
3Correctionville$19.84759
4Villisca$19.741,106
5Allison$19.06937
6Dumont$19.04614
7Seymour$18.78646
8Dexter$18.69631
9Fonda$18.52636
10Kanawha$18.11638
11Swea City$18.04545
12Greene$17.91971
13Alden$17.90738
14New Hartford$17.69555
15Lansing$17.67959
16Strawberry Point$17.581,141
17Rockwell$17.541,044
18Walnut$17.46728
19Murray$17.44609
20Gowrie$17.17943
21Colo$17.14856
22Mapleton$16.901,114
23George$16.891,106
24Adair$16.84792
25Eddyville$16.82965
26Elk Horn$16.78631
27Oxford$16.70715
28Buffalo Center$16.58839
29Bancroft$16.52677
30Eldon$16.42788
31Early$16.35571
32Aplington$16.341,088
33Panora$16.141,096
34Mechanicsville$16.12974
35Armstrong$15.87847
36Ruthven$15.84710
37Minden$15.77581
38Walker$15.74671
39Newell$15.49850
40Riceville$15.31807
41Neola$15.30917
42Sidney$15.191,048
43Gilbertville$15.15792
44Stanwood$15.12612
45Stratford$15.03688
46Griswold$15.01975
47Readlyn$14.99857
48Wyoming$14.81526
49Hopkinton$14.79622
50Essex$14.76721
51Dunlap$14.561,030
52Garnavillo$14.52751
53Maxwell$14.50862
54Clermont$14.30571
55Moulton$14.25596
56Mcgregor$14.20725
57Olin$14.19652
58Primghar$14.18893
59Sheffield$14.161,123
60Elgin$14.05676
61Ossian$13.88777
62Redfield$13.73719
63Victor$13.72852
64Edgewood$13.64908
65Sioux Rapids$13.63722
66Donnellson$13.63859
67Gladbrook$13.58775
68Rockford$13.52722
69Janesville$13.431,052
70Glidden$13.431,140
71Calmar$13.391,100
72Boyden$13.39694
73Baxter$13.32983
74Anita$13.28953
75Van Horne$13.27768
76Conrad$13.231,098
77Springville$13.221,161
78Keota$13.21888
79Shellsburg$13.20987
80De Soto$13.18937
81Quasqueton$13.12587
82Farmington$13.10583
83Anthon$13.05534
84Treynor$13.031,104
85Odebolt$13.00967
86Coggon$12.99691
87Earlville$12.90713
88Brighton$12.88592
89Danville$12.87910
90Underwood$12.85973
91Malvern$12.791,056
92Montrose$12.78734
93Goldfield$12.73617
94Wellsburg$12.68709
95Buffalo$12.681,163
96Delmar$12.68541
97Badger$12.67540
98Stanton$12.62664
99Hospers$12.58703
100Everly$12.51570
101Hazleton$12.48711
102West Point$12.39903
103Hinton$12.38959
104Preston$12.38940
105Alburnett$12.30672
106Hubbard$12.30837
107Moravia$12.27625
108Hedrick$12.22717
109Carson$12.22772
110Wheatland$12.18765
111Schaller$12.14702
112Winfield$12.041,006
113Elkhart$12.001,079
114Afton$11.96864
115Lowden$11.93767
116Tabor$11.88983
117Albert City$11.88627
118Aurelia$11.84970
119Merrill$11.64713
120Morning Sun$11.50702
121Battle Creek$11.49683
122Wall Lake$11.43739
123West Bend$11.42770
124Dakota City$11.39764
125Marcus$11.311,069
126Dunkerton$11.30840
127Sutherland$11.25628
128Arcadia$11.23588
129Whiting$11.21725
130Shelby$11.17730
131Blairstown$11.04705
132Manilla$11.01756
133Hamburg$10.95863
134Clarence$10.94991
135Ireton$10.93571
136Fontanelle$10.88684
137Richland$10.82532
138Grand Mound$10.78608
139Cambridge$10.53844
140Swisher$10.39909
141Schleswig$10.39820
142Melbourne$10.38771
143Radcliffe$10.37540
144Elk Run Heights$10.331,061
145Fredericksburg$10.27983
146Lake Park$10.251,155
147Ventura$10.22701
148Inwood$10.22962
149Milo$10.20762
150Hartford$10.16729
151What Cheer$10.01595
152Newhall$9.99887
153Cumming$9.85527
154Graettinger$9.81810
155Doon$9.78640
156Long Grove$9.59849
157Lake View$9.391,120
158Paullina$9.21979
159Fairbank$9.001,133
160Winthrop$8.94814
161Crescent$8.72626
162Keosauqua$8.58944
163Grand Junction$8.57715
164Princeton$8.24917
165Gilman$8.10530
166Kellogg$8.10597
167Lakeside$8.10695
168Riverside$8.021,063
169Agency$7.94623
170Hills$7.94911
171Fremont$7.86688
172Larchwood$7.52954
173North English$7.491,030
174Sloan$7.491,078
175Sully$7.41891
176Fruitland$7.21928
177Lawton$7.10949
178Wayland$7.07935
179Raymond$6.85754
180Keystone$6.80616
181Shueyville$6.79725
182Okoboji$3.83729

The $8.10 limit

Eldon’s general levy is $8.39 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.29 above the limit; it has to come down in steps.4 45 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.64 · FY26 $8.64 · FY27 $8.39 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $8.03 more5

  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$4.61 · $72,979
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$3.42 · $54,111

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$132,81251%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$72,97928%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$54,11121%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Eldon’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 43¢ of every dollar43¢General Government: 25¢ of every dollar25¢Public Works: 16¢ of every dollar16¢Public Safety: 8¢ of every dollar8¢Culture and Recreation: 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 181 Iowa cities closest in size (530–1,200 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (181)
Business Type / Enterprise43¢40¢
General Government25¢10¢
Public Works16¢16¢
Public Safety8¢9¢
Culture and Recreation7¢9¢

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$256,45346%
  • Public Works$134,62024%
  • Culture and Recreation$89,52116%
  • Public Safety$80,84014%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($424,228 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$132,050$183,530
Public Safety$78,146$68,896
Health and Social Services$0$0
General Government$245,742$458,341
Debt Service$89,361$19,853
Culture and Recreation$68,807$84,002
Community and Economic Development$0$0
Capital Projects$0$0
Business Type / Enterprise$388,846$369,668

What it spent each year

FY24 left out6

$1.8M
$1.2M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Eldon owes

$840,266 at June 30, 2026: $1,073 per resident. 535th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).7

$1.0M
$840,266
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$840,266$1,073
2025$904,565$1,155
2024$1.0M$1,297
2023$1.0M$1,327
2022$480,979$614
2021$630,586$805
2020$514,237$657
2019$509,647$651
2018$573,708$733
2017$627,572$801
2016$558,136$713
2015$622,075$794
2014$686,510$877
2013$749,464$957
2012$806,100$1,030
2011$773,771$988
2010$444,788$568
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$840,266$1,073
2025$904,565$1,155
2024$1.0M$1,297
2023$1.0M$1,327
2022$480,979$614
2021$630,586$805
2020$514,237$657
2019$509,647$651
2018$573,708$733
2017$627,572$801
2016$558,136$713
2015$622,075$794
2014$686,510$877
2013$749,464$957
2012$806,100$1,030
2011$773,771$988
2010$444,788$568

Up 89% since 2010.

Money in reserve

The state’s budget files don’t include cities’ fund balances8. Eldon’s latest audit has them: Periodic Examination, period ending Wednesday, March 31, 2021 (PDF).

Audits9

The latest: Periodic Examination for the period ending Wednesday, March 31, 2021 (PDF), released Monday, November 29, 2021, by a CPA firm.

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: $111,201 in FY25, down 36% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 49% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$111,827$107,750$110,600$111,201

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

  • Road Use Tax (streets)−49%$175,028 → $111,201, down 36% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 49% 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 down 16% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 33% less.

$162,852
$124,203

Federal grants, for comparison: $68,406 in FY23.

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 · 2

2 seats: the top 2 win.

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Eldon; 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.

  • Eldon City Council At-Large (3 seats)
    Now held by Stacey Cremer Doree, Tom Bedford, David Showman
  • Eldon Mayor
    Now held by Randy Lee McClure

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

Cherielynn Westrich (Sen. 13)Hans C. Wilz (Rep. 25)

U.S. House:District 3

Wapello CountyCardinal schools