The City of Storm Lake’s property tax levy rate will be reduced for the 7th year in a row.
The Storm Lake City Council recently approved the City’s fiscal year 2023-2024 budget. Storm Lake’s total property tax rate has decreased by more than eight-percent during the last seven years from $14.59 per thousand dollars of valuation in 2017 to $13.41 for this year. Storm Lake’s portion of property owners tax bill also continues to decline. In 2016, approximately 44-percent of the local tax bill went to fund the City. Currently, only about a third of residents tax bill is City-related. The other two-thirds of the property tax bill this year went to other taxing entities including the county, school district, community college, and five other agencies. Property tax rates may still rise despite the modest decrease of the Storm Lake rate depending on the rate increases or decreases decided by the other entities.
The actual property tax dollars collected by the City of Storm Lake will decline by a little over 425-thousand dollars under the newly-approved budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The 2023-2024 budget addresses priorities from the council’s Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Plan including funding of capital improvements…a commitment to critical infrastructure…increased support for local cultural, service, recreational, and quality of life endeavors…a pay increase of three-percent for non-contract employees and maintaining employee benefit contribution levels…controlling debt…and more.
