The 2025 Iowa legislative session has come to a close, and while the tax reform bills that were proposed in several forms did not pass, local officials say the proposed legislation still looms large over their future planning.

Kalona City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh highlighted the tax increment financing (TIF) reform that was proposed, saying that the change from the current rebate model would force the city to be more cautious and rely more on brokerage firms like Northland Securities to ensure safety with fiscal projections, “We still want to have the ability to provide an incentive to developers to invest in Kalona and Washington County, and to do that we really need to have a fiscal package that wants to bring them to our community. We don’t want TIF to go away, we understand that there’s a want for some reform, and we’re not against it. We just want to have a seat at the table to look at all the impacts that may or may not have.”

Mid-Prairie Community School District Superintendent Brian Stone said that the legislation being tabled has left an air of uncertainty for school districts, “We don’t know exactly what the rules to the game are, simply put.” Stone went on to say that he expects the biggest impact to be with long-term planning and the district’s facilities committee, which has been very active in recent years, including the recent approval of a new wrestling facility and weight room for the district.

Schlabaugh says that, while he agrees with the goal of property tax relief, he feels it’s important to be conscious of the services that property taxes provide, “We all support lessening our property tax, you know, doing it in a mindful way that allows communities some local control to help fund those things that are important to each community, whether its libraries, law enforcement, fire, EMS, all of those.”

Tax reform was discussed throughout the 2025 legislative session and is expected to be a major topic in Des Moines once again in 2026.