The New Hampton City Council has approved the City’s budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The property tax levy rate in New Hampton will go from about $12.16 per $1,000 of taxable assessed valuation for the current fiscal year to almost $13.82 starting July 1st.Â
To hold that levy rate increase under 14%, Mayor Steve Geerts says the budget committee had a lot of tough decisions to make.
Geerts noted that the budget process has become more challenging with state rollbacks on property taxes, combined with new limitations on their taxing authority, cutting into the City’s revenue streams.
As they look for alternate ways to generate funds for City operations, Geerts says traffic/speed cameras are not currently on the table.
Utilizing traffic/speed cameras down the road will require getting a permit from the Iowa DOT if legislation passed by the House and Senate is signed by Governor Kim Reynolds. Permit applications would need information to justify the speed limit where a camera is placed, data about the number and severity of traffic accidents in the area, with fines from traffic camera tickets used only for law enforcement.Â
Charles City has had four traffic/speed cameras active in City limits since March 11th.
