FY25 Proposed Budget

Fund, which is now drawing its fund balance back down to support the construction of the equipment building, City Park Pool and the Senor Center. It is hoped that any future surplus funds will be directed to the Facility Reserve Fund. Financial: This budget maintains a steady tax rate and adopts several rate and fee increases to ensure fiscal health and stability. The “Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Overview” section of this document further details the City’s tax and fee rates and debt service strategy for Fiscal Year 2025. The strategic plan goal to annually increase the Emergency Fund balance by 5% is not met with the Fiscal Year 2025 budget, but it is hoped that future surpluses may provide such opportunity. The Emergency Fund balance is approximately $5.4 million. Investment in Master Plans and Core Services As previously outlined, this budget provides funding to support continued implementation of various City Master Plans including the Climate Action Plan, Bicycle Master Plan, and Affordable Housing Action Plan. Over $23 million in the five-year Capital Improvement Program is budgeted for parks and recreation projects, many of which implement the Parks & Recreation Gather Here Master Plans. The Fiscal Year 2025 budget includes funding for playground improvements at College Green Park, redevelopment of the Terrell Mill Skate Park, Mercer Park Ball Diamond improvements, and new park amenities at the Shannon Drive park. Funding is also provided in Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026 for the replacement of the City Park Pool facility. Finally, the bulk of this budget is dedicated towards ensuring core service levels are maintained, including responsible funding levels for roadway repairs and equipment replacement. In addition to annual over $2 million in funding for the annual pavement rehabilitation program, several important road rehabilitation and reconstruction projects are planned for 2024-25, including the Gilbert Street Bridge replacement, Dubuque Street reconstruction, Camp Cardinal Road extension, and the rehabilitation of the Iowa Avenue pedestrian bridge across Riverside Drive. Various water, sewer, and landfill projects are also planned in accordance with replacement and maintenance schedules. Inflation, supply chain issues, and labor shortages continue to have significant impacts on operations, as well as project budgets and completion timelines. Additionally, rising insurance premiums continue to have a significant impact on the budget. Liability insurance is projected to increase 21.4% in Fiscal Year 2025 after increasing 11.6% in Fiscal Year 2024. Similarly, Fire and Casualty insurance is projected to increase 35% in Fiscal Year 2025 after increasing 25% in Fiscal Year 2024. These significant market adjustments in the insurance industry have increased costs over $850,000 over Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. As these essential costs eat up more of the available resources, value-added programs and services are impacted in the form of stagnated or reduced budget allocations.

Budget Impacts and Financial Goals This budget was developed within the context of several significant financial impacts:

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