(Atlantic, Iowa) – [updated] Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers says property owners across Iowa will soon receive a new statement in the mail regarding potential property taxes and public hearing dates for cities, schools, and the county.

The purpose of the new statement is to make taxpayers aware of the time and place of public hearings where they may voice concerns over the proposed levy rates before the budgets are approved. The city, school and county levies may be lowered after the hearings, but not increased.

Previously, this information was shared with the public by publishing maximum levy notices in the newspaper, but a change to Iowa Code 24.2A now requires county auditors to mail the statements to all property taxpayers. The proposed rates will be for taxes to be paid in September, 2024 and March, 2025.

The statement will include information about the impact of the proposed property tax rates on both a $100,000 residential property and a $100,000 commercial property. The actual impact of the tax rates on an individual’s property could be different than the examples in the statement, which do not include a change in the assessed value, but do include changes to the assessment limitation (rollback), which has reduced from 54.6501% to 46.3428% on residential property commercial property up to $150,000 in value.

The statement is not a property tax bill. Taxpayers owning property in more than one tax district may receive multiple statements.

Questions regarding the statements may be directed to the school district, county or city contact information included on the statement.