Home Page: Frequently Asked Questions

What hours are City Parks open?
All City Parks are open from 7 am until 10 pm. The Police Department may make exceptions when an event is being held in the park.

What are the Curfew Hours in Owen?
Curfew is from 10 pm until 6 am Monday thru Thursday and from 11 pm until 6 am Friday and Saturday. The curfew will be enforced for anyone under 18 years of age.

How many pets am I allowed?
Two dogs and two cats are allowed per residence.

Do I need to license my pets?
All dogs over five months of age must be licensed by January 1st of each year. Proof of rabies vaccination must be shown at the time of licensing. A dog license costs $8. If your dog has been spayed or neutered, the license will only cost $3. A late fee will be charged for all dogs not licensed by April 1st.

Why is my water bill so high even though I don't use a lot of water?
There is a base cost for water and sewer even if you don't use any water. If your meter size is less than 1", the base cost for water is $17 per month or $51 per quarter. The base cost for sewer for the same size meter is $4.25 per month or $12.75 per quarter. In addition, your first 20,000 gallons of water used is billed at $5.87 per thousand gallons. Sewer is billed at $5.08 per thousand gallons. The base cost goes up if your meter is 1" or larger and the cost per thousand gallons goes down if you use more than 20,000 gallons.

What does garbage pickup cost?
Garbage is billed along with city water and sewer. If you are billed monthly, the cost is $7.71. If you are billed quarterly, the cost is $23.13.

What will it cost me to use the Mill Pond Park pavilions?
The open pavilions are available on a first come, first serve basis and no fee is charged. If you want to use the food/beer pavilion, you must fill out a park reservation form. The cost is $50, including a $25 deposit which will be refunded to you if the area is cleaned up before you leave.

What is the Property Tax Mill Rate per thousand dollars of assessed value for the City of Owen and is it going up or down?
The City went through a revaluation process in 2007 that allowed the mill rate to drop.
                                       2008 Mill Rate                     2007 Mill Rate                      2006 Mill Rate
City                                    $10.93                                $10.43                                   $13.60
Other Taxing Jurisdictions   $15.91                                $15.60                                   $19.78
Total                                  $26.84                                $26.03                                   $33.38  

What is the equalized value of the City of Owen and is it going up or down?
The equalized value is rising slowly over time.
2006 Equalized Value including TIF areas   $35,400.800
2007 Equalized Value including TIF areas   $36,431,900
2008 Equalized Value including TIF areas   $38,051,600
2009 Equalized Value including TIF areas   $39,737,400