The Ankeny City Council approved the FY 2026 budget on Monday. The $198 million budget maintains the property tax rate at $9.90 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. The new budget will go into effect July 1, 2025. Ankeny’s property tax rate is the lowest of any city with a population of 5,000 or more in the Des Moines metro.
The FY 2026 budget for Ankeny is comprised of operating expenditures totaling approximately $152 million and capital improvement expenditures of $46 million. These expenditures amount to a total budget of $198 million. The FY 2026 budget supports the City Council’s goal to upgrade essential infrastructure while exercising financial discipline.
The budget includes the addition of 13.13 new full-time equivalent employees to help meet growth-based service needs and fully staff Fire Station No. 4. The new positions for FY 2026 include: school resource officer, firefighter/paramedic (9), engineering technician II (2) and utilities operator I.
The budget focuses on improved maintenance for annual programs and it supports several large capital improvement projects including: Trestle Ridge Park development, NW Irvinedale Drive and NW 18th Street Intersection Improvements, SW Walnut Street and SW Ordnance Road Water Main project including 40 new parking stalls in Uptown, SW Des Moines Street Utility Improvements, and North Ankeny Boulevard Improvements – 1st Street to 11th Street.
The City’s FY 2026 budget includes a 6% increase in water usage rates and a 4% increase in service availability charges, effective April 1. Solid waste rates will increase 6 cents per month. Sewer utility rates will increase 7.5% for sewer usage and service availability charges. Storm water utility rates will not change, although the maximum equivalent residential unit (ERU) for commercial, industrial and multi-family will increase from 90 ERU to 100 ERU.
Considering property tax, utility franchise fees, and utility rates, the owner of a $302,400 home in Ankeny will see an increase of $99 annually for City services. A business owner with a property assessed at $1.18 million can expect to see an increase in costs of approximately $189 annually for City services.
The City of Ankeny receives approximately 27 cents of each dollar paid in property taxes. There are eight other entities that collect revenue from those who pay property taxes in Ankeny including the school district, Polk County, Broadlawns Medical Center, DMACC, DART, Polk County Assessor, Polk County Ag Extension and State of Iowa.
The Ankeny City Council held four meetings to discuss the FY 2026 budget, all of which were open to the public. More information about the FY 2026 budget can be found on the City of Ankeny website: https://www.ankenyiowa.gov/207/Budget.