Fort Dodge property owners just got a break from their city government.

During Monday’s City Council meeting it was revealed that the property rate for the 2019-2020 fiscal year will remain unchanged for the fourth consecutive year.

The rate will remain the same at $20.42 per $1,000 of taxable value.

The total levy is divided up into different categories to pay for different functions of city government. Some of those individual levy components, notably those that pay for employee benefits and emergency management and 911 dispatching, went up. Other elements, including that portion that goes toward paying off general obligation bond debt, went down.

The bottom line of those various ups and downs is that the total levy remains unchanged at $20.42 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.

At the council meeting, the elected officials praised City Manager David Fierke and other staff members for their work that resulted in no increase in the levy rate.

”I’d say good job managing our funds,” Mayor Matt Bemrich said.

That praise is well-deserved.

We join in the compliments, and especially salute Jeff Nemmers, the city clerk and finance director. He came to the city staff with years of experience as an accountant in the private sector and prides himself in making conservative estimates on all aspects of the budget. His approach, combined with the work of Fierke and other staffers, is paying off for homeowners and other property owners.

The levy being discussed by Fort Dodge officials is for the city government only. Webster County, the Fort Dodge Community School District and Iowa Central Community College also levy property taxes. Their levies for 2019-2020 haven’t been announced yet, so there’s a chance there could be tax increases from those entities. But the city government has done its part to hold the line for city taxpayers.

On behalf of the property owners throughout Fort Dodge, we thank the city staff and elected officials for again avoiding a property tax increase.