As the Iowa Legislature continues to negotiate property tax reform, one of the leaders of those conversations provides an update. 

House District 47 Representative Carter Nordman is the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, or the taxing entity, and he believes that something will be done by the end of the session as discussions between the two chambers and the governor’s office are continuing to progress. 

Representative Nordman reviews the key aspects of what the House initially proposed as part of its property tax plan. He says one of the most important parts of the bill was limiting revenue growth for local governments to two percent. He explains that by implementing this change, it will save billions of dollars over the next few years.

“We need to reign in local governments, that’s where the money is being spent. The legislature does not spend your property taxes, its local governments. We’ve seen numerous cases across the state of reckless spending. We’ve also seen a lot of cases of counties and cities doing it well and keeping their levy rates low. It’s not a blanket statement, but more often than not, we are seeing local governments needing to be reigned in a bit.”

Nordman states that another portion was about transparency so that Iowans know where their tax money is going and how it is being spent.

“Getting a tax notice that actually makes sense with some graphs. Here’s where your money is going, here’s how it is divided up, here’s who’s spending it. That way Iowans can get involved in their city council meetings, their (county supervisors meetings or their school board meetings.”    

Nordman adds one of the final elements of the House bill includes a $25,000 exemption, after the residential roll-back, to provide immediate relief to homeowners. Jefferson City Administrator Scott Peterson wants the legislature to provide stability, consistency and predictability for property taxes, no matter what the final decision may end up being.