MADISON COUNTY, Iowa —

Some Madison County cities and schools have begun receiving delayed property-tax distributions, but local officials say the money is only a partial payment after months of waiting.

Winterset received $335,000, city officials told KCCI. The Martensdale-St. Marys Community School District received a $35,655.53 transfer for the period from Nov. 28, 2025, through June 23, 2026. Earlham also received a partial distribution Friday.

Earlham Mayor Jeff Lillie said the payment gives the city enough to get through at least one more pay period. If the city “scrimps and saves,” he said, it might stretch to two. Earlham is continuing to finalize a $500,000 line of credit, which Lillie described as a last resort.

The delay had already strained the city’s finances before Friday’s payment. At an Oct. 13 Madison County Board of Supervisors meeting, Lillie said Earlham had received no property-tax distributions in 2026 as of that date. The city received about $460,000 from September through November last year and expected roughly $350,000 through October this year.

The delay also compounded a separate $42,000 shortfall in Earlham’s fiscal 2026 distributions that auditors identified in late July or early August, Lillie said. He said the Friday payment covered that amount and more. The city still plans to approve paperwork for its credit line at a special meeting Wednesday, with access to the funds expected around Nov. 1–3.

Even after the delayed statements are sent, the money will not arrive immediately. Lillie said residents have 30 days to pay their property taxes after the statements are mailed, and some residents pay later. The county must then distribute the collected revenue.

Earlham’s school district also described a significant funding gap at the Oct. 13 supervisors meeting. Superintendent Steven Kaster said the district’s last property-tax distribution was June 12. By the meeting, it had received no more payments for four months; a comparable period typically brings the district about $1 million. Kaster said the district could face interest and legal costs if it has to borrow to cover essential operations.

The impact varies across districts. Martensdale-St. Marys Superintendent William Watson said most of the district’s property-tax revenue comes from Warren County, so it is not facing the same strain as districts with more property in Madison County. Nodaway Valley Superintendent Dr. Pam Stangeland said Madison County makes up less than one-seventh of the district and that it can operate without the county revenue for now.

Governor sets Tuesday deadline

On Oct. 16, Gov. Kim Reynolds sent Madison County Treasurer Kylee Barber a letter directing her to deliver the delayed property-tax statements by Tuesday, Oct. 20, and send the governor a written update on her progress.

The letter cited possible grounds for removal, including willful misconduct or maladministration, but said the governor was not seeking Barber’s removal at that time. Reynolds’ press secretary told KCCI the office was confident Barber would meet the deadline. Barber did not respond to KCCI’s request for an update.

The power is not common for a governor to exercise, but a spokesperson for the governor’s office says it has been used in at least one other instance, pointing to a 1935 case, State v. Manning, in which a governor petitioned the attorney general to remove the mayor and two commissioners of Ottumwa.

At the Oct. 13 supervisors meeting, Barber said she was working through county financial records and hoped to get tax information online by the end of the following week. She also told supervisors the county was using a new printer vendor and she would ask it to expedite mailing the statements. County Auditor Michele Brant said that day that balancing had been completed through April 2026 and she could not give a timeline for completing the remaining work.

The previous Madison County treasurer pleaded guilty to third-degree fraudulent practice and an aggravated misdemeanor in connection with financial issues that arose while she was in office.

KCCI’s outreach to cities

KCCI contacted city officials in Bevington, Earlham, East Peru, Macksburg, Patterson, St. Charles, Truro and Winterset.

• Earlham: Mayor Jeff Lillie spoke with KCCI. He said the partial distribution gives the city at least one more pay period and that Earlham is continuing to pursue a $500,000 line of credit. Lillie also said, “The situation that [Barber] inherited when she became the treasurer was already a difficult one.”
• Winterset: The city administrator declined an interview but told KCCI it was strategically reallocating funds until the funding came through. The city received $335,000, which the administrator said was a partial payment.
• Bevington, East Peru, Macksburg, Patterson, St. Charles and Truro: City officials did not respond to KCCI before publication.

KCCI’s outreach to school districts

KCCI contacted the ADM, East Union, Earlham, I-35, Martensdale-St. Marys, Nodaway Valley, Van Meter and Winterset school districts.

• Martensdale-St. Marys: Superintendent William Watson wrote: “The majority of our property tax revenue comes from Warren County. While the challenges of Madison County are certainly not ideal, we are not experiencing the same issues that others in our area are at this time in our school district.”

  Watson also wrote: “Based upon last year, we should be due approximately $17,500 for September 2026 and then our October payment last year was $465,000.00.”

  In a separate update, he wrote: “One piece of good news – we received a transfer today in the amount of $35,655.53 in payment for the period of time from 11/28/2025 to 6/23/2026.”

• Nodaway Valley: Superintendent Dr. Pam Stangeland wrote:

  “Madison County comprises less than 1/7th of our entire district. Since Orient-Macksburg officially dissolved last school year, this is the first year Nodaway Valley has had even this amount of property tax revenue in the county. Therefore, we have little to compare with the distributions of previous years. Typically in the past, our distributions have been under $4,000.

  “Friday we received an email with the apportionments listed through the end of June. We will continue working with Madison County officials and are looking forward to the distributions when they arrive.

  “As this does not impact us as significantly as other districts which have more property in the county, we are able to operate our district without this revenue at this time.”

• I-35: Superintendent Michael Gossen said he was out of the district through Wednesday and would return Thursday. He wrote that the district was “not available for comment until then,” but added: “Please know that we are not in the same situation as Earlham due to the fact that our school district lies among three different counties and only a fraction of our population comes from Madison County.”

• Winterset Schools: Superintendent Justin Gross wrote:
  “Our district’s situation is different from that of Earlham. We do not anticipate having to borrow money to make payroll at this time, should the county treasurer hit the deadline that she shared at last Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.”
• ADM, East Union, Earlham and Van Meter: The districts did not respond to KCCI’s request for comment before publication.