After weeks of discussion and adjustments, Elko New Market city councilors approved a budget and property tax levy for 2026.
The council OK’d the city’s 2026 property tax levy at its Dec. 18 meeting. The general fund budget will increase from $3,297,590 to $3,849,687 – an increase of $447,903 or 15.72%. The city’s total levy will increase by $490,823 to $4,238,383 – an increase of 13.1%.
Based on information provided by the county auditor’s office, the proposed levy in the proposed budget would result in an estimated increased tax impact of 4.4% or $78.19 for the ‘typical’ house. Approximately 3% of homes experienced an increase in assessed value more than the ‘typical’ house. The typical house in Elko New Market (67% of the homes) had an increase in assessed value between 5.01% and 10%. Approximately 27% of homes experienced an increase in assessed value less than the ‘typical’ house. Approximately 3% of homes experienced no change or a decrease in assessed value. The estimated weighted average for tax impact is 2.89%.
Thanks to the addition of the value of the Niagara Bottling plant to the city’s tax base plus the increases in new home construction and residential values, the impact of the levy increase will be minimal and allow the city to add items to the budget normally requiring years to accomplish, said Tom Terry, Elko New Market’s city administrator.
Depending on changes to valuation, Terry noted about 30% of the houses in the city could see a slight...
To see more on this story pick up the January 1, 2026 print edition of The New Prague Times.