Mason City’s city administrator says work continues to try to educate legislators on property tax reform

MASON CITY — Efforts to reform property taxes in Iowa failed to come forward during the recently completed session of the Iowa Legislature. One proposal by Republican legislators would have set new limits on the growth of city and county budgets at 2%, which many local leaders argued would not have kept up with rising prices.

Mason City’s city administrator Aaron Burnett says he and other city managers have been working to try and offer legislators some options in examining the issue. “Working with the Iowa City Managers Association and the Iowa League of Cities, I’m working with both of those organizations on efforts to educate legislators and to work on proposals to try and offer solutions as we come into the next legislative session.”

Burnett says some of the ideas floated around at the statehouse this session would have had a dramatic effect on cities and counties. “If you remember, we had property taxes proposals, there were quite a few that were pretty damaging to cities and really hard to operate under. It would have really put constraints on the ability for the city to continue to invest in placemaking, housing, culture and recreation, so many different things that are critical to creating a livable place for people to live and call home. So, we’re working hard to try and be part of that solution to propose to lawmakers in the upcoming session.”

Heading into this year’s session, Republicans said setting new limits on property taxes was their top priority and was one of the top concerns heard during the 2024 campaign.