FY2024 Proposed Budget

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS FUND

This fund accounts for annual employee benefit costs for the General Fund and a share of Road Use Tax employees. Costs include health, dental, life and disability insurance; employer-share FICA and IPERS retirement contributions; Chapter 411 Police and Fire retirement contributions, accidental disability and on-the-job injury medical claims; and worker’s compensation insurance. Legal authority for the fund is established by two sections of Iowa code. Iowa State Code chapter 386.6.1 provides authority for municipalities to establish a fund for the purpose of “accounting for pension and related employee benefit funds as provided by the City Finance Committee”, while also providing the authority to levy a tax in the amount necessary to meet these obligations. Chapter 545.4 of the Administrative Code of Iowa provides the City Finance Committee’s definition of eligible benefits and how they are must be accounted for. Fund Balance: During the 2009 legislative session, a bill was passed amending section 411.l6(5)(c)(2) of the Iowa State Code. This amendment added a presumption for police and fire personnel, that any infectious disease and/or cancer is presumed to have been contracted during the performance of the duties, placing fiduciary responsibility for all related medical claims upon the employer. As with other accidental disability and on-the-job medical claims, fund reserves will be utilized to prevent a spike in the tax levy in any given year from such claims. For this reason, fund balance is recommended to be between 25% and 35% of total fund revenues. The fund balances versus revenues since fiscal year 2020 are as follows:

Employee Benefits Fund

2020 Actual

2021 Actual

2022 Actual

2023 Revised

2024 Budget

2025 Projected

Revenues $ 12,798,747 $ 14,799,472 $ 14,891,999 $ 14,822,685 $ 15,196,856 $ 15,563,930 Fund Balance $ 3,584,853 $ 3,630,989 $ 4,130,695 $ 4,111,635 $ 4,111,635 $ 4,035,585 Percentage 28.01% 24.53% 27.74% 27.74% 27.06% 25.93%

Revenues: The Employee Benefits property tax levy rate for fiscal year 2024 is $3.34415 per $1,000 of valuation. There is no change in the Employee Benefits property tax levy rate from fiscal year 2023. Property tax revenues make up nearly 95% of the Employee Benefits Fund’s revenues. Property tax revenue grew by $328,767 or 2.34% from fiscal year 2023 to fiscal year 2024.

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