Who runs it
The city council passes ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the city’s property tax.
No officials known 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
Rates over time
Per $1,000 of taxable value: the typical combined rate people in St Marys pay, and the city government’s own piece of it.
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $31.71 | $8.10 |
| FY21 | $23.79 | $0.00 |
| FY22 | – | $8.97 |
| FY23 | – | $8.73 |
| FY24 | $31.88 | $8.74 |
| FY25 | – | $9.37 |
| FY26 | – | $9.18 |
| FY27 | – | $8.82 |
Show the numbers
| Year | Combined | City’s own |
|---|---|---|
| FY20 | $31.71 | $8.10 |
| FY21 | $23.79 | $0.00 |
| FY22 | – | $8.97 |
| FY23 | – | $8.73 |
| FY24 | $31.88 | $8.74 |
| FY25 | – | $9.37 |
| FY26 | – | $9.18 |
| FY27 | – | $8.82 |
The $8.10 limit
St Marys’s general levy is $7.97 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.13 below the limit.3 448 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.
FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.37 · FY26 $8.21 · FY27 $7.97 (before FY25, the general levy alone)
Outside the limit: $0.85 more4
- Liability, property & self insurance costs$0.69 · $2,875
- Total Employee Benefit Levies$0.16 · $671
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.
Budget and spending
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.
The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($60,000 in FY26), so this total is low.
Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
| Function | Budget | Spent |
|---|---|---|
| Public Works | $3,909 | $2,258 |
| Public Safety | $1,281 | $1,352 |
| Health and Social Services | $0 | $0 |
| General Government | $12,995 | $11,048 |
| Debt Service | $0 | $0 |
| Culture and Recreation | $434 | $339 |
| Community and Economic Development | $0 | $0 |
| Capital Projects | $0 | $0 |
| Business Type / Enterprise | $52,000 | $56,187 |
What it spent each year
FY24 left out5
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? 6
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: $11,963 in FY25, up 5% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 16% less. Grants are below.
Show the numbers
| Source | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road Use Tax (streets) | $10,704 | $10,328 | – | $10,659 |
| Commercial and industrial tax replacement (“backfill”) | $101 | – | $1,028 | $1,304 |
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.
| Year | Grants and projects |
|---|---|
| FY19 | $0 |
| FY20 | $0 |
| FY21 | $0 |
| FY22 | $0 |
| FY23 | $177 |
| FY24 | $10,752 |
| FY25 | $0 |
Show the numbers
| Year | Grants and projects |
|---|---|
| FY19 | $0 |
| FY20 | $0 |
| FY21 | $0 |
| FY22 | $0 |
| FY23 | $177 |
| FY24 | $10,752 |
| FY25 | $0 |
Has it kept up with prices?
Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.
- Road Use Tax (streets)−25%$11,401 → $10,659, down 7% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 25% 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 350% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 259% more.
Federal grants, for comparison: $9,495 in FY23.
Elections
No local races loaded yet.