City

Cushing

$2,860 a yearproperty tax on a $200,000 home here, FY27, for every local government ($33.97 per $1,000 of taxable value)¹

$1,030 a yearof that goes to the city ($12.18 per $1,000)

$54,533property taxes the city levies, FY27

$190,920city 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.

Dustin SchlengerCushing City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Jesse VanHoutenCushing Mayor · elected November 4, 2025
Keith JacksonCushing City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
William O'ConnellCushing City Council At-Large · elected November 4, 2025
Brennan HoaglundCushing City Council At-Large · elected November 7, 2023
Jesse VanHoutenCushing 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 Cushing

Homes and businesses in most of Cushing pay a combined $33.97 per $1,000 of taxable value (FY27). They pay it all to the Woodbury County treasurer, who passes each government its share; the city sets and gets only its own piece, $12.18. Estimate your bill.

River Valley schools$13.1639%
City of Cushing$12.1836%
Woodbury County$7.1121%
Western Iowa Tech Community College$1.023%
Woodbury County Assessor$0.381%
Woodbury County Extension (ISU Extension and Outreach)$0.11<1%

Rates over time

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

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$34.86	$13.88
FY21	$34.38	$13.69
FY22	$32.30	$11.77
FY23	$35.90	$15.40
FY24	$35.71	$15.84
FY25	$34.61	$14.75
FY26	$32.84	$12.12
FY27	$33.97	$12.18

Show the numbers

Year	Combined	City’s own
FY20	$34.86	$13.88
FY21	$34.38	$13.69
FY22	$32.30	$11.77
FY23	$35.90	$15.40
FY24	$35.71	$15.84
FY25	$34.61	$14.75
FY26	$32.84	$12.12
FY27	$33.97	$12.18

Compared with places this size³

Cushing’s city property tax rate of $12.18 per $1,000 is the 83rd highest of 198 Iowa cities with 150–340 people. The middle of the group is $11.67.

See all 198

#	Place	Rate per $1,000	People
1	Fenton	$22.05	250
2	Soldier	$21.92	176
3	Coulter	$21.80	220
4	Chelsea	$21.61	207
5	Elliott	$21.61	328
6	Smithland	$21.12	184
7	Volga	$20.23	200
8	Alta Vista	$19.88	219
9	Arthur	$19.86	218
10	Coin	$19.59	171
11	Garden Grove	$19.20	173
12	Fort Atkinson	$19.19	300
13	Hastings	$18.95	157
14	Cumberland	$18.42	248
15	Jamaica	$18.24	196
16	Hillsboro	$17.68	158
17	Pierson	$17.12	335
18	Pisgah	$17.09	248
19	Lakota	$16.84	261
20	Marble Rock	$16.78	258
21	Auburn	$16.65	253
22	Prescott	$16.53	186
23	Irwin	$16.46	320
24	Montour	$16.37	199
25	Corwith	$16.22	259
26	Deep River	$16.18	243
27	Waucoma	$16.17	235
28	Granville	$16.00	302
29	Minburn	$15.75	317
30	Little Sioux	$15.74	170
31	Moorhead	$15.68	186
32	Onslow	$15.63	198
33	Linden	$15.62	206
34	Kamrar	$15.47	178
35	Peterson	$15.27	321
36	Greeley	$15.23	216
37	Riverton	$14.94	243
38	Marathon	$14.89	221
39	Ladora	$14.74	223
40	Magnolia	$14.68	194
41	Bagley	$14.63	230
42	Davis City	$14.45	178
43	Lucas	$14.40	176
44	Halbur	$14.37	268
45	Crystal Lake	$14.36	243
46	Kimballton	$14.27	281
47	Steamboat Rock	$14.19	261
48	Westgate	$14.05	190
49	Mystic	$14.01	318
50	Diagonal	$13.91	331
51	Mondamin	$13.82	335
52	Fertile	$13.70	300
53	Stockport	$13.68	272
54	Kellerton	$13.60	241
55	Quimby	$13.58	245
56	Meservey	$13.43	212
57	Persia	$13.41	292
58	Lacona	$13.38	336
59	Leland	$13.31	240
60	Ute	$13.26	326
61	Harcourt	$13.21	257
62	Bennett	$13.16	330
63	Ridgeway	$13.10	261
64	Farmersburg	$13.09	264
65	Portsmouth	$13.05	187
66	Clutier	$13.03	209
67	Templeton	$12.91	337
68	Silver City	$12.87	244
69	Patterson	$12.84	176
70	Martelle	$12.83	250
71	Malcom	$12.82	257
72	Blencoe	$12.57	223
73	Williams	$12.57	299
74	Maurice	$12.56	271
75	Clearfield	$12.50	277
76	Kensett	$12.47	256
77	Mccausland	$12.45	314
78	Aurora	$12.40	165
79	Modale	$12.34	284
80	Mingo	$12.31	314
81	Brandon	$12.29	331
82	Blakesburg	$12.21	273
83	Cushing	$12.18	225
84	Hanlontown	$12.17	200
85	Stout	$12.14	194
86	Macedonia	$12.12	266
87	Paton	$12.09	217
88	Decatur	$12.08	174
89	Kiron	$12.03	262
90	Rembrandt	$12.03	199
91	Shambaugh	$11.98	161
92	Liscomb	$11.96	292
93	New Providence	$11.88	233
94	Parnell	$11.78	190
95	Reasnor	$11.76	157
96	Joice	$11.72	206
97	Atalissa	$11.71	287
98	Cantril	$11.69	224
99	Kelley	$11.69	312
100	Wadena	$11.65	201
101	Exline	$11.60	157
102	Cincinnati	$11.57	280
103	Beaman	$11.54	155
104	Delta	$11.52	257
105	Terril	$11.48	310
106	Westside	$11.45	283
107	College Springs	$11.44	172
108	Holland	$11.37	261
109	Mallard	$11.28	255
110	Renwick	$11.16	228
111	Linn Grove	$11.15	155
112	Dundee	$11.14	193
113	Randolph	$11.08	183
114	Leighton	$11.07	153
115	Rake	$11.05	179
116	Frederika	$10.99	206
117	Alexander	$10.90	165
118	Goose Lake	$10.89	250
119	Yale	$10.85	265
120	Lambs Grove	$10.78	174
121	Wallingford	$10.75	154
122	Hornick	$10.74	255
123	Woden	$10.68	183
124	Bode	$10.64	304
125	Cleghorn	$10.49	235
126	Barnes City	$10.44	152
127	Danbury	$10.43	315
128	Lytton	$10.38	274
129	Stockton	$10.37	171
130	Rhodes	$10.36	269
131	Randall	$10.35	156
132	Dedham	$10.28	221
133	Deloit	$10.28	246
134	Protivin	$10.28	264
135	Meriden	$10.28	175
136	Drakesville	$10.24	170
137	Bronson	$10.14	294
138	Hancock	$10.13	199
139	La Motte	$10.09	235
140	Melvin	$10.05	196
141	Defiance	$10.05	248
142	Floyd	$10.02	297
143	Barnum	$9.96	186
144	Panama	$9.85	234
145	Grafton	$9.83	212
146	Ionia	$9.65	220
147	Salix	$9.63	303
148	Van Wert	$9.62	175
149	Kirkville	$9.59	159
150	Luxemburg	$9.58	240
151	Rippey	$9.42	217
152	Elberon	$9.16	178
153	Dixon	$9.03	204
154	Lester	$8.94	309
155	Blairsburg	$8.93	175
156	Prairieburg	$8.91	156
157	Oakville	$8.89	198
158	Harvey	$8.71	242
159	Washta	$8.65	206
160	Moorland	$8.61	169
161	Pilot Mound	$8.54	155
162	Ollie	$8.44	196
163	Thor	$8.38	182
164	Rowley	$8.31	264
165	South English	$8.27	196
166	Thurman	$8.26	162
167	Boxholm	$8.11	177
168	Fostoria	$8.10	229
169	Low Moor	$8.10	242
170	Bertram	$8.10	267
171	Nichols	$8.10	317
172	Laurel	$8.10	214
173	Lineville	$8.10	194
174	Luana	$7.98	303
175	Lockridge	$7.92	245
176	Mount Auburn	$7.86	162
177	Haverhill	$7.86	164
178	Grand River	$7.86	192
179	Olds	$7.86	174
180	Rose Hill	$7.86	156
181	Lidderdale	$7.68	162
182	Pulaski	$7.58	259
183	Sheldahl	$7.56	312
184	Fredonia	$7.55	227
185	Harpers Ferry	$7.49	273
186	Alvord	$7.41	216
187	Donahue	$6.83	336
188	Packwood	$6.77	186
189	Libertyville	$6.60	278
190	Keswick	$6.49	238
191	Crawfordsville	$6.44	278
192	Oakland Acres	$5.88	178
193	Maysville	$5.77	155
194	Maharishi Vedic City	$3.87	290
195	Wahpeton	$3.19	337
196	West Okoboji	$2.92	311
197	Sherrill	$2.66	176
198	Rickardsville	$2.27	204

The $8.10 limit

Cushing’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.

$8.10

FY23 $8.05 · FY24 $8.10 · FY25 $7.86 · FY26 $8.10 · FY27 $8.10 (before FY25, the general levy alone)

Outside the limit: $4.08 more⁵

Liability, property & self insurance costs$2.47 · $10,651
Total Employee Benefit Levies$1.61 · $6,956

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$34,92366%
Liability, property & self insurance costs$10,65120%
Total Employee Benefit Levies$6,95613%

Budget and spending

Reading a local budget

Where each dollar of Cushing’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 196 Iowa cities closest in size (150–340 people).

Where it goes	Of each dollar	Cities this size (196)
Public Works	29¢	21¢
Business Type / Enterprise	27¢	35¢
General Government	18¢	20¢
Public Safety	11¢	10¢
Culture and Recreation	10¢	8¢
Everything else	6¢	3¢

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 Works$74,20039%
General Government$42,70022%
Public Safety$34,50018%
Culture and Recreation$25,00013%
Debt Service$14,5208%

The state’s FY27 file doesn’t include business type / enterprise yet ($66,000 in FY26), so this total is low.

Budget compared with what it spent, FY23

Function	Budget	Spent
Public Works	$76,100	$68,606
Public Safety	$28,000	$26,387
Health and Social Services	$0	$0
General Government	$43,300	$47,045
Debt Service	$39,644	$0
Culture and Recreation	$32,000	$30,699
Community and Economic Development	$0	$0
Capital Projects	$0	$0
Business Type / Enterprise	$60,000	$136,552

What it spent each year

FY24 left out⁶

$988,177

$373,054

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? ⁷

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: $23,195 in FY25, up 16% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 8% less. Grants are below.

Show the numbers

Source	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Road Use Tax (streets)	$22,222	$22,461	$23,070	$23,195

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.

$332,821

$411

State grants$411100%

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$21,336
FY20	$62,082
FY21	$332,821
FY22	$166,599
FY23	$22,543
FY24	$407
FY25	$411

Show the numbers

Year	Grants and projects
FY19	$21,336
FY20	$62,082
FY21	$332,821
FY22	$166,599
FY23	$22,543
FY24	$407
FY25	$411

Has it kept up with prices?

Each source from FY19 to FY25, after inflation.

Road Use Tax (streets)−8%$20,022 → $23,195, up 16% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 8% 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 41% since FY19 while prices rose 25%, so it buys 12% more.

$43,010

Federal grants, for comparison: $16,223 in FY23.

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

City · 2

Cushing City Council At-Large

3 seats: the top 3 win.

Keith Jackson Winner4235.3%
Dustin Schlenger Winner3831.9%
William O'Connell Winner2016.8%
Stephen Droegmiller 1916.0%

Cushing Mayor

Jesse VanHouten Unopposed45100.0%

Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Cushing; official results are on each county auditor’s site.

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁸

Kevin Alons (Sen. 7)Travis M. Sitzmann (Rep. 13)

U.S. House:District 4

Woodbury County River Valley 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. ↩
Levies outside the limit are each set aside for one purpose and have their own rules: debt service pays back bonds voters or the council approved, employee benefits cover pensions and insurance, and some (transit, an airport, insurance costs) have their own caps in state law. ↩
The state’s FY24 spending file repeats the year before for nearly every Iowa city, so that year isn’t shown. ↩
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. ↩
Legislative and congressional districts that cover Cushing; percentages are rough shares of its area. These lawmakers write the state laws and budget Cushing 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.

Cushing

Who runs it

Meetings and agendas

Property taxes

Who gets a property owner’s tax bill in Cushing

Rates over time

Compared with places this size3

The $8.10 limit

Outside the limit: $4.08 more5

The city’s levies, FY27

Budget and spending

Where each dollar of Cushing’s budget goes, FY26

Planned spending, FY27

What it spent each year

State money

What the state pays the city every year

Grants and project money

Has it kept up with prices?

Collected by the state for the city

Elections

Most recent: November 4, 2025

Related places

At the Statehouse and in Congress8

Compared with places this size³

Outside the limit: $4.08 more⁵

At the Statehouse and in Congress⁸