Who runs it
The Board of Supervisors sets the county budget and its property tax; the other officers run elections, records, taxes and law enforcement.
No officials known yet.
Meetings and agendas
What the Board of Supervisors is deciding: each agenda, the resolutions and ordinances on it, and a plain-language summary.2
AI summary
- The board will review and officially count the results from the November 3, 2026, General Election.
AI summary
- Hold a public hearing and vote on Resolution 2026-28, which is the first budget amendment for the 2027 fiscal year.
- Review the secondary roads report from Chris Fredericksen and consider approving right-of-way permits.
AI summary
- Vote on adopting the Shelby County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
- Discuss a proposed amendment to the FY27 budget and schedule a public hearing for November 3rd at 9:05 a.m. at the Supervisors Chambers in Harlan.
- Receive updates regarding the Family Crisis Center and the Country Care Center.
- Review reports from the Secondary Roads department regarding right-of-way permits, the Weed Commissioner, the Recorder, Conservation, and the Supervisor’s Committee.
Property taxes
Rates over time
Typical combined rate per $1,000 of taxable value, and the county government’s own rural levy.
Show the numbers
| Year | In cities | Rural | County’s rural levy |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY27 | $37.55 | $26.43 | $9.73 |
| FY26 | $39.44 | $25.32 | $9.89 |
| FY25 | $37.61 | $25.32 | $9.73 |
| FY24 | $38.11 | $24.89 | $9.25 |
| FY23 | $32.85 | $23.69 | $8.77 |
| FY22 | $33.24 | $23.80 | $8.35 |
| FY21 | $33.48 | $23.69 | $8.33 |
| FY20 | $32.85 | $23.87 | $8.64 |
Rates by city, FY27
Typical combined rate in each city, per $1,000 of taxable value.
Show the numbers
| City | Typical rate | Since FY22 |
|---|---|---|
| Defiance | $32.82 | +6.3% |
| Earling | $43.24 | +23.9% |
| Elk Horn | $37.25 | +12.1% |
| Harlan | $37.85 | +1.6% |
| Irwin | $36.60 | +18.7% |
| Kirkman | $31.78 | +12.9% |
| Panama | $32.62 | +14.4% |
| Portsmouth | $35.82 | +25.7% |
| Shelby | $32.26 | +10.2% |
| Tennant | $28.22 | +7.0% |
| Westphalia | $31.95 | +7.2% |
Compared with places this size3
Shelby County’s countywide property tax rate of $6.31 per $1,000 is the 19th highest of 46 Iowa counties with 8,400–18,000 people. The middle of the group is $6.10.
See all 46
| # | Place | Rate per $1,000 | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Winnebago County | $8.49 | 10,383 |
| 2 | Hardin County | $8.26 | 16,464 |
| 3 | Tama County | $8.20 | 16,738 |
| 4 | Montgomery County | $8.08 | 10,063 |
| 5 | Clarke County | $7.88 | 9,524 |
| 6 | Louisa County | $7.80 | 10,630 |
| 7 | Union County | $7.65 | 11,955 |
| 8 | Davis County | $7.37 | 9,193 |
| 9 | Page County | $7.34 | 15,038 |
| 10 | Iowa County | $7.29 | 16,423 |
| 11 | Jefferson County | $6.97 | 15,781 |
| 12 | Clayton County | $6.89 | 16,931 |
| 13 | Wright County | $6.87 | 12,729 |
| 14 | Greene County | $6.83 | 8,662 |
| 15 | Harrison County | $6.69 | 14,626 |
| 16 | Howard County | $6.54 | 9,360 |
| 17 | Allamakee County | $6.45 | 14,184 |
| 18 | Sac County | $6.36 | 9,533 |
| 19 | Shelby County | $6.31 | 11,821 |
| 20 | Butler County | $6.28 | 14,156 |
| 21 | Guthrie County | $6.24 | 10,774 |
| 22 | Floyd County | $6.16 | 15,008 |
| 23 | Emmet County | $6.16 | 9,162 |
| 24 | Hamilton County | $6.03 | 14,856 |
| 25 | Clay County | $5.97 | 16,474 |
| 26 | Mills County | $5.90 | 14,717 |
| 27 | Delaware County | $5.79 | 17,609 |
| 28 | Kossuth County | $5.79 | 14,408 |
| 29 | Calhoun County | $5.75 | 9,711 |
| 30 | Humboldt County | $5.74 | 9,617 |
| 31 | Keokuk County | $5.64 | 9,855 |
| 32 | Mitchell County | $5.64 | 10,632 |
| 33 | Monona County | $5.63 | 8,429 |
| 34 | Lucas County | $5.40 | 8,758 |
| 35 | Grundy County | $5.20 | 12,405 |
| 36 | Chickasaw County | $5.13 | 11,719 |
| 37 | Franklin County | $5.11 | 10,024 |
| 38 | Appanoose County | $5.06 | 12,106 |
| 39 | Crawford County | $4.90 | 16,378 |
| 40 | Cass County | $4.75 | 13,024 |
| 41 | Madison County | $4.70 | 17,161 |
| 42 | Palo Alto County | $4.48 | 8,809 |
| 43 | Hancock County | $4.00 | 10,616 |
| 44 | Lyon County | $3.96 | 12,378 |
| 45 | Cherokee County | $3.89 | 11,658 |
| 46 | O'Brien County | $3.59 | 14,260 |
What’s taxed
$1.19B of taxable value in 2025 valuations, +24.3% since 2020. Who carries the load, by kind of property:
- Farmland and farm buildings$574.7M47%
- Homes$478.2M39%
- Commercial$94.3M8%
- Utilities, railroads and other$43.6M4%
- Industrial$26.4M2%
Show the numbers
| Valuation year | Homes | Farmland | Commercial | Industrial | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $478.2M | $574.7M | $94.3M | $26.4M | $1.19B |
| 2024 | $452.8M | $573.7M | $77.0M | $20.6M | $1.14B |
| 2023 | $429.1M | $558.4M | $75.2M | $20.1M | $1.11B |
| 2022 | $382.1M | $516.8M | $63.9M | $18.6M | $1.01B |
| 2021 | $364.9M | $501.3M | $78.4M | $28.5M | $998.5M |
| 2020 | $336.6M | $497.5M | $73.1M | $26.6M | $960.1M |
| 2019 | $327.0M | $482.7M | $72.8M | $25.5M | $934.9M |
| 2018 | $322.6M | $442.2M | $70.8M | $24.3M | $886.5M |
Budget and spending
Where each dollar of the county’s budget goes, FY27
| Where it goes | Of each dollar | Counties this size (45) |
|---|---|---|
| Roads & transportation | 36¢ | 35¢ |
| Public safety & legal services | 34¢ | 21¢ |
| Administration | 10¢ | 12¢ |
| Parks, libraries, extension & environment | 5¢ | 6¢ |
| Capital projects | 5¢ | 12¢ |
| Everything else | 10¢ | 14¢ |
Planned spending from all funds. “Counties this size” is the average for the 45 counties closest in size (8,400–18,000 people).
The county’s budget
Shelby County plans to spend $21.2M in FY27, from property taxes, state and federal money, fees and its reserves. It spent $17.4M in FY25.
Its property tax levies, FY27
Dollars per $1,000 of taxable value. Everyone in the county pays the countywide levies; people outside cities also pay the rural ones, which mostly pay for roads and rural services.
- General Basic · countywide$3.30
- General Supplemental · countywide$2.03
- 422D EMS · countywide$0.72
- Debt Service · countywide$0.26
- Countywide · countywide$6.31
- Rural Basic · rural$3.42
- Total Rural · rural$9.73
Sales tax and state money
Local option sales tax collected
The extra local sales tax voters approved, collected by the state and paid back to the county and its cities.
Show the numbers
| Year | Collected |
|---|---|
| FY24 | $1.8M |
| FY23 | $1.7M |
| FY22 | $1.6M |
| FY21 | $1.6M |
| FY20 | $1.5M |
| FY19 | $1.4M |
| FY18 | $1.3M |
| FY17 | $1.2M |
| FY16 | $1.2M |
| FY15 | $1.2M |
| FY14 | $1.3M |
State payments to the county and its cities
Sales tax collected for them and property tax credits paid on residents’ behalf: $3.0M in FY26. The newest year may be partial.
Who received them, FY26
Show the numbers
| Program | FY27 | FY26 | FY25 | FY24 | FY23 | FY22 | FY21 | FY20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local option sales tax | $144,982 | $1.8M | $1.9M | $1.8M | $1.7M | $1.8M | $1.6M | $1.4M |
| Homestead property tax credit | – | $695,575 | $654,614 | $594,414 | $561,657 | $562,524 | $550,186 | $538,544 |
| Ag land and family farm tax credits | $383,093 | $475,457 | $451,195 | $475,534 | $548,448 | $560,653 | $471,044 | $434,721 |
| Business property tax credit | – | – | $660,900 | $654,921 | $520,339 | $515,343 | $516,164 | $507,846 |
| Elderly and disabled property tax credit | – | $24,966 | $25,992 | $28,048 | $28,842 | $28,372 | $29,028 | $27,182 |
| Military service property tax credit | – | – | – | $8,077 | $8,436 | $8,782 | $9,115 | $9,294 |
Elections
Most recent: November 3, 2026
County offices · 5
- Geralyn S. Greer RUnopposed
- Carolyn Blum RUnopposed
Townships · 18
Local races from civicAPI and county auditors for Shelby County; official results are on each county auditor’s site.
Places in the county
At the Statehouse and in Congress4
Jason Schultz (Sen. 6)Craig Steven Williams (Rep. 11, 54%)Steven C. Holt (Rep. 12, 47%)
U.S. House:District 4
School districts
A-H-S-TBoyer ValleyElk Horn-KimballtonHarlanIkm-ManningTri-CenterWalnutWoodbine