"Significant decline in new housing starts" for the City of Decorah's residential tax abatement program in 2019

The Decorah City Council is expected to act Monday evening to approve ten applications for residential tax abatements by property owners who have built new houses or significantly improved existing houses.

But the total valuation of such new housing will be significantly less in 2019 than it has been in past years.  City Administrator Chad Bird notes, "The decline in units (for) the year may be attributed to an increasingly tight economy and/or uncertainty about the City's residential tax abatement program's continuation."

This is the fifth year the City of Decorah has given tax abatements to property owners who make significant improvements to their houses or build a new house.  During that five-year period, the value of new construction has been around $32 million.