Welcome to Howard County, Iowa
Assessor
Contact Information
Howard County Courthouse
137 North Elm Street
Cresco IA 52136
Duties of the Assessor
Assessors are appointed to their position by a Conference Board consisting of the members of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayors of all the incorporated cities, and a member of each school district within the jurisdiction. A city with a population of 10,000 or more may elect to have their own assessor. In cities having an assessor the conference board shall consist of the members of the City council, school board and county board of supervisors.
- The latter requirement must be met in order for the Assessor to be reappointed to the position every six years.
- The Conference Board approves the Assessor's budget and after a public hearing acts on adoption of the same.
- The Assessor is limited, by statute, depending upon the value of the jurisdiction, to a levy limitation for the budget.
Assessors are required by law to pass a state examination and complete a continuing education program consisting of 150 hours of formal classroom instruction with 90 hours tested and a passing grade of 70% attained.
Administrative and statutory duties
The primary duty & responsibility is to assess all real property within the Assessor's jurisdiction except that which is otherwise provided by law.
This would include residential, commercial, industrial, multiresidential and agricultural.
Real property is revalued every two years
The effective date of the assessment is January first of each year.
Determines a full or partial value for all new construction & improvements depending upon their state of completion as of that January first date
The Assessor is concerned with value, not taxes.
Taxing jurisdictions such as schools, cities and county, adopt budgets after public hearings.
This determines the tax levy, which is the rate of taxation required to raise the money budgeted.
The taxes you pay are proportional to the value of your property compared to the total value of property in your taxing district.
Howard County Assessor Does not
Collect taxes.
Calculate taxes.
Determine tax rate.
Set policy for the Board of Review.
Market Value, Tax Levies and Assessed Values
Real Estate Information