The Linn County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved Linn County’s fiscal year 2016 budget of $105.1 million with no increase in the county tax rate.
The countywide levy rate for FY16 will be $6.14 per $1,000 of taxable value, the same as last year. The rural services levy, which is in addition to the countywide levy rate for residents who live in unincorporated Linn County, also remains unchanged at $2.78 after a $.93 (cent) reduction from Local Option Sales Tax revenue.
However, homeowners will see a slight increase in their property tax bills due to the state rollback which increased the taxable value of a home from 54 percent in FY15 to 56 percent in FY16. This means an approximate 2.4 percent or $8 increase on a home assessed at $100,000 due to the state rollback adjustment.
Commercial and industrial property taxes in Linn County will decrease by another 5 percent or $123 from FY15 for a total reduction of 10 percent or $246 in the last two fiscal years on a business assessed at $400,000 due to the rollback from Senate File 295.
Agricultural property owners will pay 3 percent more in FY16 due to the state rollback. Agricultural land is taxed at 45 percent of assessed value after decreasing annually from 100 percent in FY08.
“We worked hard to have a fiscally responsible budget that allows us to provide valuable services to Linn County residents without raising the county’s levy rate,” said Linda Langston, Linn County Board of Supervisors chairperson. “We are also pleased to note that property tax savings continues this year for our rural residents due to the revenue from the unincorporated portion of the Local Option Sales Tax that we have designated for property tax relief.”
FY16 budget summary:
• Budget of $105.1 million, a decrease of $10.2 million from last year primarily due to mental health and social services decreases resulting from funding loss in intergovernmental revenues
• Countywide levy rate remains unchanged from last year at $6.14 per $1,000 of taxable value
• Rural levy rate remains unchanged from last year at $2.78 after $.93 reduction from Local Option Sales Tax (LOST)
• Property taxes comprise 58 percent of Linn County’s FY16 budget. The remaining revenue sources include intergovernmental, charges for services, licenses and permits and other taxes.
• Linn County government accounts for approximately 16 percent of property taxes paid by Linn County property owners in incorporated areas. The remaining 84 percent of property taxes goes to the property taxpayer’s city of residence, school district and other taxing bodies in the county. Linn County taxes represent slightly more than one-third of property taxes for rural residents.
Linn County’s 2016 fiscal year is July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016.