A potential 14-cent increase in the property tax rate for the Fort Dodge city government received scant interest during a Monday evening public hearing.

Just one person, Mike Raja, owner of the Days Inn at 3040 Fifth Ave. S., addressed the City Council during the hearing. He spoke against the proposed increase.

The council also received one written comment, submitted by what appeared to be the owners and operators of every hotel in the city, opposing the increase.

Just four members of the public were in the council meeting room for the hearing.

The proposed property tax rate for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2027, is $20.89 per $1,000 of taxable value.

That is a 14-cent increase from the current rate of $20.75 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Revenue generated by the increase would go to the Dodger Area Rapid Transit (DART) bus service, which is experiencing increased costs and decreased federal support.

Raja was largely complimentary toward the City Council and city staff, saying he was pleased with many things that have been done to improve the community.

He said his main concern is the property tax bill. He said the total property tax bill for the hotel is about $70,000, with about $20,000 of that going to the city.

Raja said the hotel is “running at a loss right now.” He added that he is trying to sell it.

City Clerk Dawn Siebken read the letter from the hotel owners and operators into the record.

In the letter, the hoteliers wrote that local hotels are “operating under intense financial pressure.”

They asked the council to reconsider the property tax rate increase.

They also asked the council to reconsider the possibility of giving financial support to the rejuvenation of a long-shuttered hotel at First Avenue South and Third Street. Doing so had been mentioned as a possibility when Fort Dodge was awarded $3.5 million for downtown and the riverfront area through a state reinvestment district program.

With the hearing concluded, $20.89 per $1,000 of taxable value is now set as the maximum possible property tax rate for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The City Council can reduce that rate, however.