Muckler suggested the council's investments in the city and its services are paying off, noting there is a 50 percent drop in property crime since 2019. In the past five years, Newton has completed more road projects than it had in the previous 15 years. Muckler said what ends up happening is cities end up with a higher levy because they are trying to catch up with past infrastructure needs. When some cities fall behind, they decide to not spend money or ignore needs. "If we're not growing, it really poses challenges on trying to maintain a police force, fire department and all the services we're providing to our residents." "I talked a lot about in my letter with the residents that expressed concern about how important it is for us to grow," Muckler said. Population will continue to grow with more housing opportunities.
The 2022 census numbers, however, show Newton is at its highest population ever at 15,760 residents. Utility bills would be increased and put additional burden on taxpayers.Īnother consideration Muckler wanted to point out was the city's population, which has hovered around 15,000 people for several decades. However, establishing a franchise fee comes at a price. If the council were to adopt a 5 percent franchise fee, it would immediately lower the property tax levy from $17.14 to $15.34 to still receive the same revenue. Out of a list of 10 comparable Iowa cities, Newton is one of two cities without a franchise fee. Muckler noted the City of Newton does not have a franchise fee. This is the correct number," Muckler said at the most recent council meeting. "The increase is 7.72 percent, not 11 percent. Plus, staff noted the residential rollback error from the state had not been corrected at that time, so the percentage would be even lower. The 11.1 percent figure that was shared is the the percent increase in max property tax dollars for the fiscal year 2024 budget. Officials were adamant that this was not true. Some citizens in the comments claimed the city was raising taxes by 11.1 percent. Concerns were mostly aimed at a Facebook post which showed yet-to-be-updated property tax information. Muckler's speech reflected the sentiments he shared in letters to three citizens who spoke at the Feb. 14-In response to multiple inquiries about property taxes and the fiscal year 2024 budget, city administrator Matt Muckler provided in-depth clarifications and other facts and figures at the March 6 council meeting that show the increase in City of Newton tax dollars is less than what was initially thought.
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