Local property taxpayers have opportunities this week to learn more about how their property tax bills are determined. 

The first of these meetings is tonight.

Tonight’s public hearing will address the Van Diest Medical Center fiscal year 2027 levy. The medical center is eligible for the levy because it does business as the Hamilton County Public Hospital.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the clinic board room at Van Diest Medical Center, 2350 Hospital Drive, Webster City. VDMC will host an informational session for community members prior to the formal public hearing. That will take place from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m., also in the clinic boardroom.

The hospital levy, and its amount, has been challenged recently through published comments that have appeared in The Daily Freeman-Journal. Critics of the levy are expected to address their concerns during this meeting.  

On Wednesday night, the Hamilton County Board of Supervisors will host a public hearing to address the county’s FY27 levy. This meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the basement conference room of the Hamilton County Courthouse, 2300 Superior St., Webster City.

Immediately following that public hearing, there will be a presentation of the Hamilton County Assessor’s Office budget. That meeting is not a formal public hearing, though the public is welcome to attend. This is also in the basement conference room of the courthouse.

Public meetings provide an opportunity for taxpayers to ask questions and get a better understanding of how their tax dollars are used.

Kim Schaa, Hamilton County auditor, encourages people to attend these meetings.

“We hear the most dissatisfaction about taxes when people get their tax receipts or when they pay their taxes,” she said.

The hospital and county levies are only a small portion of a property owner’s total tax bill. To help understand the greater distribution of levied property taxes, the DFJ has today published an example of a city of Webster City tax bill on page 2.

Readers will also note that it is highlighted where you find the assessed value of a property, in addition to the taxable portion.

Schaa wants the public to understand where their tax dollars are being spent.

“Since we mail out the tax bills and collect the money, they think it’s all going to the county, and that we are the ones raising the taxes,” she said. “In reality, we have a relatively small portion of the tax bill.”

Levies in Hamilton County also support the City of Webster City, public schools, Iowa Central Community College, the Hamilton County Assessor’s Office, and ISU Extension. 

A levy is a percentage of dollars calculated using a property’s taxable value, not its assessed value.