The Webster County Board of Supervisors approved the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget Monday during a special public hearing.

According to Webster County Finance Director Deena McCaulley, the overall approved budget is $55,542,305.

The tax asking is $19,578,775, which is up less than 1%. That includes the new EMS levy.

Residents of Fort Dodge and other incorporated cities will pay a county property tax rate of $7.12 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Rural residents will pay a county property tax rate of $10.78 per $1,000 of taxable value. The rural residents always have a higher rate because they pay more to support the county’s engineering department.

Both the urban and rural property tax rates include the EMS levy.

Without the voter-approved EMS levy, the levy would have decreased by 3 cents.

“In addition to last year’s revenue collected by levied property taxes, the voter-approved EMS levy was added,” said McCaulley. “Seventy-five cents per $1,000 of the county’s levy is for EMS. The EMS levy revenue is only used for EMS department expenditures countywide. Without the voter-approved EMS levy, the levy would have decreased 3 cents. With the approved EMS levy, the rate increased 72 cents.”

According to McCaulley, county valuations are up .86% and keeping the levy close to what it was last year allows the county increase of less than 1%.

The county’s expenditures for fiscal year 2025-2026 are also down from 2024-2025 and 2023-2024 budgets. Anticipated expenditures for 2025-2026 are $46,023,427 whereas 2024-2025 was $52,366,244, and 2023-2024 was $52,754,784.

“Due to department heads understanding the importance of keeping the counties spending to a minimum on their budgets, the overall total expenditures are down for 2025-2026,” said McCaulley.