The City of Kalona will hold a public hearing for their proposed property tax levy on Monday, February 20. The hearing begins at 7 p.m. at the Kalona Community Center-City Hall Council Chambers.

The hearing, as well as the tax levy, come as part of the city’s planning process for their 2023-24 budget. As City Administrator for Kalona, Ryan Schlabaugh, explained to KCII, “Every community in Iowa, when they approve their budget, they have to approve their max levy, which is ultimately the amount the taxpayers will be assessed for general government.”

The proposed max levy is $9.56 per thousand of valuation. For the previous fiscal year the levy was set at $9.37. Additional employees and increased price of services were listed as some of the factors contributing to the increase. In the spirit of transparency, Schlabaugh reminds citizens, “This is not your total levy that you’ll expect to see on your taxes. It’s just one component of it. We expect it to be in that $10.36 to $10.37 per thousand [range]”. Schlabaugh doesn’t anticipate significant changes to the total levy from previous years. 

Any Kalona residents or taxpayers are welcome to attend the February 20 public hearing, where they may voice objections to or arguments in favor of the proposed tax levy.