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Local taxes › Winnebago County › Buffalo Center

City

Buffalo Center

Winnebago County · How cities work

$3,080 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($36.54 per $1,000 of taxable value)1
$1,400 a yearof that goes to the city ($16.58 per $1,000)
$505,029property taxes the city levies, FY27
$1.4Mcity 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.

  • Gregory AukesBuffalo Center City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Nicholas HollandBuffalo Center City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
  • Rick HofbauerBuffalo Center Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
  • Joann SteffensenBuffalo Center City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Robin KettwickBuffalo Center City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
  • Tanner WeaverBuffalo Center 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 Buffalo Center

Homes and businesses in most of Buffalo Center pay a combined $36.54 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Winnebago County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $16.58. Estimate your bill.

Rates over time

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

YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$36.64$16.47
FY21$36.67$16.66
FY22$36.55$16.86
FY23$36.38$17.11
FY24$39.54$17.07
FY25$39.00$17.44
FY26$38.53$16.47
FY27$36.54$16.58
Show the numbers
YearCombinedCity’s own
FY20$36.64$16.47
FY21$36.67$16.66
FY22$36.55$16.86
FY23$36.38$17.11
FY24$39.54$17.07
FY25$39.00$17.44
FY26$38.53$16.47
FY27$36.54$16.58

Compared with places this size3

Buffalo Center’s city property tax rate of $16.58 per $1,000 is the 29th highest of 185 Iowa cities with 570–1,300 people. The middle of the group is $12.87.

Elkader: $27.11Exira: $24.81Laurens: $24.16Dayton: $22.51Correctionville: $19.84Villisca: $19.74Allison: $19.06Dumont: $19.04Seymour: $18.78Dexter: $18.69Fonda: $18.52Kanawha: $18.11Greene: $17.91Alden: $17.90Lansing: $17.67Strawberry Point: $17.58Rockwell: $17.54Walnut: $17.46Murray: $17.44Gowrie: $17.17Colo: $17.14Mapleton: $16.90George: $16.89Fayette: $16.85Adair: $16.84Eddyville: $16.82Elk Horn: $16.78Oxford: $16.70Bancroft: $16.52Eldon: $16.42Early: $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: $14.99Tripoli: $14.99Hopkinton: $14.79Essex: $14.76Dunlap: $14.56Garnavillo: $14.52Maxwell: $14.50Coon Rapids: $14.49Clermont: $14.30Moulton: $14.25Mcgregor: $14.20Olin: $14.19Primghar: $14.18Sheffield: $14.16Elgin: $14.05Ossian: $13.88Alton: $13.87Redfield: $13.73Victor: $13.72Edgewood: $13.64Sioux Rapids: $13.63Donnellson: $13.63Gladbrook: $13.58Clarksville: $13.53Rockford: $13.52Janesville: $13.43Glidden: $13.43Calmar: $13.39Boyden: $13.39Baxter: $13.32Manly: $13.29Anita: $13.28Van Horne: $13.27Conrad: $13.23Springville: $13.22Keota: $13.21Shellsburg: $13.20De Soto: $13.18Quasqueton: $13.12Farmington: $13.10Treynor: $13.03Odebolt: $13.00Coggon: $12.99Earlville: $12.90Brighton: $12.88Danville: $12.87Underwood: $12.85New Sharon: $12.80Malvern: $12.79Montrose: $12.78Goldfield: $12.73Wellsburg: $12.68Buffalo: $12.68Stanton: $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: $11.21Melcher-Dallas: $11.21Shelby: $11.17University Heights: $11.12Blairstown: $11.04Manilla: $11.01Hamburg: $10.95Clarence: $10.94Ireton: $10.93Fontanelle: $10.88Grand Mound: $10.78Cambridge: $10.53Swisher: $10.39Schleswig: $10.39Melbourne: $10.38Elk Run Heights: $10.33Fredericksburg: $10.27Lake Park: $10.25Ventura: $10.22Inwood: $10.22Milo: $10.20Hartford: $10.16Central City: $10.01What Cheer: $10.01Newhall: $9.99Graettinger: $9.81Doon: $9.78Long Grove: $9.59Lake View: $9.39Paullina: $9.21Fairbank: $9.00Winthrop: $8.94Crescent: $8.72Keosauqua: $8.58Grand Junction: $8.57Princeton: $8.24Kellogg: $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: $6.79Arnolds Park: $4.95Okoboji: $3.83Buffalo Center: $16.58$3.83 lowest$27.11 highestmiddle
See all 185
#PlaceRate per $1,000People
1Elkader$27.111,192
2Exira$24.81766
3Laurens$24.161,253
4Dayton$22.51766
5Correctionville$19.84759
6Villisca$19.741,106
7Allison$19.06937
8Dumont$19.04614
9Seymour$18.78646
10Dexter$18.69631
11Fonda$18.52636
12Kanawha$18.11638
13Greene$17.91971
14Alden$17.90738
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
24Fayette$16.851,193
25Adair$16.84792
26Eddyville$16.82965
27Elk Horn$16.78631
28Oxford$16.70715
29Buffalo Center$16.58839
30Bancroft$16.52677
31Eldon$16.42788
32Early$16.35571
33Aplington$16.341,088
34Panora$16.141,096
35Mechanicsville$16.12974
36Armstrong$15.87847
37Ruthven$15.84710
38Minden$15.77581
39Walker$15.74671
40Newell$15.49850
41Riceville$15.31807
42Neola$15.30917
43Sidney$15.191,048
44Gilbertville$15.15792
45Stanwood$15.12612
46Stratford$15.03688
47Griswold$15.01975
48Readlyn$14.99857
49Tripoli$14.991,208
50Hopkinton$14.79622
51Essex$14.76721
52Dunlap$14.561,030
53Garnavillo$14.52751
54Maxwell$14.50862
55Coon Rapids$14.491,258
56Clermont$14.30571
57Moulton$14.25596
58Mcgregor$14.20725
59Olin$14.19652
60Primghar$14.18893
61Sheffield$14.161,123
62Elgin$14.05676
63Ossian$13.88777
64Alton$13.871,248
65Redfield$13.73719
66Victor$13.72852
67Edgewood$13.64908
68Sioux Rapids$13.63722
69Donnellson$13.63859
70Gladbrook$13.58775
71Clarksville$13.531,238
72Rockford$13.52722
73Janesville$13.431,052
74Glidden$13.431,140
75Calmar$13.391,100
76Boyden$13.39694
77Baxter$13.32983
78Manly$13.291,233
79Anita$13.28953
80Van Horne$13.27768
81Conrad$13.231,098
82Springville$13.221,161
83Keota$13.21888
84Shellsburg$13.20987
85De Soto$13.18937
86Quasqueton$13.12587
87Farmington$13.10583
88Treynor$13.031,104
89Odebolt$13.00967
90Coggon$12.99691
91Earlville$12.90713
92Brighton$12.88592
93Danville$12.87910
94Underwood$12.85973
95New Sharon$12.801,249
96Malvern$12.791,056
97Montrose$12.78734
98Goldfield$12.73617
99Wellsburg$12.68709
100Buffalo$12.681,163
101Stanton$12.62664
102Hospers$12.58703
103Everly$12.51570
104Hazleton$12.48711
105West Point$12.39903
106Hinton$12.38959
107Preston$12.38940
108Alburnett$12.30672
109Hubbard$12.30837
110Moravia$12.27625
111Hedrick$12.22717
112Carson$12.22772
113Wheatland$12.18765
114Schaller$12.14702
115Winfield$12.041,006
116Elkhart$12.001,079
117Afton$11.96864
118Lowden$11.93767
119Tabor$11.88983
120Albert City$11.88627
121Aurelia$11.84970
122Merrill$11.64713
123Morning Sun$11.50702
124Battle Creek$11.49683
125Wall Lake$11.43739
126West Bend$11.42770
127Dakota City$11.39764
128Marcus$11.311,069
129Dunkerton$11.30840
130Sutherland$11.25628
131Arcadia$11.23588
132Whiting$11.21725
133Melcher-Dallas$11.211,193
134Shelby$11.17730
135University Heights$11.121,188
136Blairstown$11.04705
137Manilla$11.01756
138Hamburg$10.95863
139Clarence$10.94991
140Ireton$10.93571
141Fontanelle$10.88684
142Grand Mound$10.78608
143Cambridge$10.53844
144Swisher$10.39909
145Schleswig$10.39820
146Melbourne$10.38771
147Elk Run Heights$10.331,061
148Fredericksburg$10.27983
149Lake Park$10.251,155
150Ventura$10.22701
151Inwood$10.22962
152Milo$10.20762
153Hartford$10.16729
154Central City$10.011,254
155What Cheer$10.01595
156Newhall$9.99887
157Graettinger$9.81810
158Doon$9.78640
159Long Grove$9.59849
160Lake View$9.391,120
161Paullina$9.21979
162Fairbank$9.001,133
163Winthrop$8.94814
164Crescent$8.72626
165Keosauqua$8.58944
166Grand Junction$8.57715
167Princeton$8.24917
168Kellogg$8.10597
169Lakeside$8.10695
170Riverside$8.021,063
171Agency$7.94623
172Hills$7.94911
173Fremont$7.86688
174Larchwood$7.52954
175North English$7.491,030
176Sloan$7.491,078
177Sully$7.41891
178Fruitland$7.21928
179Lawton$7.10949
180Wayland$7.07935
181Raymond$6.85754
182Keystone$6.80616
183Shueyville$6.79725
184Arnolds Park$4.951,214
185Okoboji$3.83729

The $8.10 limit

Buffalo Center’s general levy is $7.69 per $1,000 of taxable value in FY27, $0.41 below the limit.4 741 of 934 Iowa cities have a higher general levy. All cities.

FY23 $8.10 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $8.00 · FY26 $7.92 · FY27 $7.69 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $8.89 more5

  • Debt Service Levy$5.08 · $154,330
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$2.74 · $83,357
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$1.07 · $32,362

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$233,44546%
  • Debt Service Levy$154,33031%
  • Liability, property & self insurance costs$83,35717%
  • Total Employee Benefit Levies$32,3626%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Buffalo Center’s budget goes, FY26

Business Type / Enterprise: 34¢ of every dollar34¢General Government: 16¢ of every dollar16¢Culture and Recreation: 16¢ of every dollar16¢Public Works: 15¢ of every dollar15¢Debt Service: 11¢ of every dollar11¢Everything else: 8¢ of every dollar8¢

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 184 Iowa cities closest in size (570–1,300 people).

Where it goesOf each dollarCities this size (184)
Business Type / Enterprise34¢40¢
General Government16¢9¢
Culture and Recreation16¢9¢
Public Works15¢16¢
Debt Service11¢6¢
Everything else8¢10¢

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$600,00042%
  • General Government$202,30014%
  • Public Works$198,50014%
  • Culture and Recreation$186,00013%
  • Debt Service$157,37311%
  • Public Safety$100,2807%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($391,000 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23
FunctionBudgetSpent
Public Works$165,000$222,507
Public Safety$85,280$87,496
Health and Social Services$0$0
General Government$110,050$123,264
Debt Service$143,006$136,318
Culture and Recreation$143,000$139,505
Community and Economic Development$0$0
Capital Projects$0$441,303
Business Type / Enterprise$349,000$403,426

What it spent each year

FY24 left out6

$1.6M

Debt, reserves and audits

How local debt works · What an audit tells you

What Buffalo Center owes

$683,000 at June 30, 2026: $797 per resident. 588th most per resident of 939 Iowa places of its kind (the list).7

$1.3M
$683,000
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$683,000$797
2025$820,000$957
2024$1.0M$1,176
2023$935,474$1,092
2022$1.1M$1,279
2021$1.2M$1,458
2020$1.3M$1,498
2019$1.3M$1,526
2018$1.2M$1,437
2017$122,000$142
2016$171,000$200
2015$271,500$317
2014$336,500$393
2013$467,000$545
2012$410,000$478
2011$232,280$271
2010$341,560$399
Show the numbers
June 30OwedPer resident
2026$683,000$797
2025$820,000$957
2024$1.0M$1,176
2023$935,474$1,092
2022$1.1M$1,279
2021$1.2M$1,458
2020$1.3M$1,498
2019$1.3M$1,526
2018$1.2M$1,437
2017$122,000$142
2016$171,000$200
2015$271,500$317
2014$336,500$393
2013$467,000$545
2012$410,000$478
2011$232,280$271
2010$341,560$399

Up 100% since 2010.

The 5% limit8

General obligation debt is $305,000, 10% of the limit of about $2.9M (5% of $58.8M, the full value of its taxable property in 2024).

5 obligations at June 30, 2026
KindForPaid off byOwed
Revenue BondsWATER PLANT PROJECT2035$378,000
General Obligation2023 STREET IMPROVEMENT2033$192,000
General Obligation2016 STREET IMPROVEMENT2027$55,000
General ObligationGARBAGE TRUCK2029$38,000
General ObligationSTREET IMPROVEMENT2028$20,000

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 balances9. Buffalo Center’s latest audit has them: Annual Examination, period ending Wednesday, June 30, 2021 (PDF).

Audits10

The latest: Annual Examination for the period ending Wednesday, June 30, 2021 (PDF), released Tuesday, November 16, 2021, by a CPA firm.

3 earlier reports for Buffalo Center

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? 11

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: $121,711 in FY25, up 4% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 17% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers
SourceFY22FY23FY24FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)$119,663$117,933$121,053$121,711

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.

$116,327
$0
    YearGrants and projects
    FY19$0
    FY20$116,327
    FY21$0
    FY22$63,920
    FY23$0
    FY24$0
    FY25$0
    Show the numbers
    YearGrants and projects
    FY19$0
    FY20$116,327
    FY21$0
    FY22$63,920
    FY23$0
    FY24$0
    FY25$0

    Has it kept up with prices?

    Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

    • Road Use Tax (streets)−17%$116,913 → $121,711, up 4% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 17% 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 21% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 4% less.

    $122,026
    $116,442

    Federal grants, for comparison: $63,946 in FY23.

    Business awards

    Every award statewide

    Elections

    Running for mayor and city council

    Filing opens Monday, August 23, 2027: in 284 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)12.

    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 Buffalo Center; 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.

    • Buffalo Center City Council At-Large (3 seats)
      Now held by Tanner Weaver, Robin Kettwick, Joann Steffensen
    • Buffalo Center Mayor
      Now held by Rick Hofbauer

    Candidates as county auditors and civicAPI list them; a filing can take a few days to appear here13.

    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 ballot14.

    Related places

    At the Statehouse and in Congress15

    David D. Rowley (Sen. 5)Henry Stone (Rep. 9)

    U.S. House:District 4

    Winnebago CountyNorth Iowa schools