Linn County Wins National Award for Innovative Online Property Tax Transparency Tool

Linn County has received national recognition for its online property tax transparency tool, the result of a collaboration between Linn County's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Department and the Treasurer's Office. The Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award from Esri recognizes Linn County's commitment to making local government more open, accessible, and accountable to residents.

The online tool gives taxpayers a clear, easy-to-understand view of the property tax collection and distribution process. Through interactive maps, dashboards, and charts, residents can see:

• The property tax bill cycle
• Countywide property tax statistics
• Tax levy rates for every taxing jurisdiction in Linn County
• How and where property taxes are distributed
• Three years of history for an individual property's tax bill
• A list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

By searching their address, property owners can see how their property tax dollars are distributed among taxing jurisdictions such as their city, school district, and Linn County - down to the exact dollar amount and percentage. They can also compare their current tax bill to the past three years and see how their taxes compare to similar properties nearby.

While property tax bills also include a percentage and dollar breakdown of where taxes go, this online dashboard makes the information easier to access because no paper bill is required. The tool is powered entirely by publicly available data.

"There's a common misconception that Linn County keeps all of the property taxes it collects," said Linn County Treasurer Brent Oleson. "In reality, County Treasurers collect property taxes on behalf of all jurisdictions in the county, including the cities, school districts, townships, and community colleges, and then distributes those dollars accordingly. This tool allows residents to see exactly how their taxes are distributed and provides a clear picture of where their money goes."

The project demonstrates the value of cross-departmental collaboration within Linn County government. According to the award notification from Esri, the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award is given to user sites around the world to recognize outstanding work with GIS technology, and that Linn County stood out from hundreds of thousands of others.

Explore this interactive property tax tool on Linn County's website at LinnCountyIowa.gov.