Budget season begins tonight for the City of Muscatine

December is a key month for municipal governments as they work to piece together a budget that is balanced according to projected revenues but still maintains the level of services that residents expect. That process continues starting tonight (Jan. 30) with the General Fund Overview presented to the Muscatine City Council starting at 6 p.m.

Before that, however, will be a special City Council meeting to that will include a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) presentation by John Danos of Dorsey and Whitney, LLP, the City’s bond attorney. The presentation will be followed by discussion with possible action on a TIF agreement with ORA Orthopedics.

And then City staff will begin the process of presentations and discussions with City Council members on the proposed FY 25-26 budget.

Matt Mardesen began his duties as the City Administrator for the City of Muscatine on December 16. The first items he found on his desk when he walked into his new office was a stack of folders with proposed budgets from the various departments.

As daunting as the task of sifting through the piles of documents might be to an established City Administrator, Mardesen felt prepared and ready to sift through the proposals with the help of Finance Director Nancy Lueck and the directors from each department.

Mardesen felt he had an understanding of the complexity of services and staff of the City of Muscatine having studied the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 budget page-by-page in his preparation for the City Administrator candidate interviews in October 2024.

“It took a while to go through but there is a wealth of knowledge in those pages,” Mardesen said. “City staff does a wonderful job of preparing the budget book including all the historical data.”

Mardesen added that the budget book is recommended reading for anyone who wants to know the ins and outs of city government.

“I had a better understanding of where Muscatine is and have a better understanding of where Muscatine wants to go by reviewing last year’s budget and sitting down with each department to hear their wants and needs,” Mardesen said.

Development of the proposed budget is a delicate task as each department creates their wish list of personnel, equipment, and projects for the coming fiscal year knowing full well that not everything will be included in the budget to be presented to Council.

One of the question marks at this time is how much funding the City will receive in property taxes for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 especially with the changes being made by the state legislature. The budget still needs to be prepared and readied for presentation to the Muscatine City Council, and that begins on January 30. It is now “Budget Season” for the City of Muscatine.

Mardesen and Lueck will present an overview of the proposed FY 25-26 budget to the City Council during a special Council session that will take place on Jan. 30. This is the first of a series of budget sessions that will be held in the City Council chambers over the next several weeks.

Council members, Mardesen, and City staff members will be present in the City Council chambers for each session. All sessions are open to the public.

Public comment during the budget sessions will not be permitted. The public is urged to attend and take notes, write down any questions or concerns, and bring those questions and concerns up during the Public Hearing for the proposed budget that will be held in April.

Thursday’s meeting will be followed by several weeks of presentations to the City Council by the various departments and outside agencies supported by the City of Muscatine. The first session will start at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. Sessions will also be held on Feb. 4, Feb. 5, Feb. 6, Feb. 8, Feb. 11, and Feb. 12. A meeting for February 15 has also been scheduled if discussions have not concluded on Feb. 12.

A significant change, approved by the Iowa Legislature in 2019, to the annual city budget adoption process is that municipalities are required to hold an additional public hearing to identify “a total maximum property tax dollars to be derived from certain levies in the budget for the next fiscal year”.

The public hearing and the passage of a resolution on the proposed maximum property tax dollars must proceed setting a public hearing on the adoption of the budget.

To help cities meet the requirements of holding two public hearings, the State of Iowa moved back the deadline to file an approved budget with the county auditor for certification to April 30. The previous deadline was March 31.

A complete schedule of the meetings along with additional information can be found at 2025/2026 Proposed Budget on the Finance & Records page of the City of Muscatine website.

Details and additional information on these agenda items can be found by clicking AGENDA and clicking on the January 30 City Council Agenda link to view the agenda and/or attachments, or to download a PDF version of the City Council agenda and/or attachments.

The public is welcomed, and encouraged, to attend when the Council meets at 6 p.m. Thursday in the City Council Chambers on the second flood of Muscatine City Hall. The meeting is open to all individuals regardless of language spoken or disability. Any person requiring a reasonable accommodation to participate should contact the City Clerk’s office at 563-264-1550.

FY 2025-2026 CITY COUNCIL BUDGET SCHEDULE

All Meetings Take Place in the Council Chambers on the second floor at Muscatine City Hall

6:00 p.m. Thursday, January 30, 2025

General Fund Overview to City Council

8:00 a.m. Saturday, February 1, 2025

City Council Budget Review
Department and division presentations from: Legal Services; City Administrator; Human Resources; Risk Management; Finance; Information Technology; Community Development; Police Operations; Animal Control; Library Operations; Cablevision; Art Center; Fire Operations; Ambulance.

6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Department and division presentations from: Parks Administration; Park Maintenance; Aquatic Center; Recreation; Soccer; Kent Stein; Sports Dome; Wellness; Cemetery; Golf Course; Boat Harbor; Marina.

6:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Department and division presentations from: Public Works Administration; Engineering; Roadway Maintenance; Traffic Control; Snow and Ice; Street Cleaning; Building & Grounds; Collection & Drainage; Equipment Services; Airport & Airport Subsidy; Equipment Replacement.

Post Council Thursday, February 6, 2025

Outside Agency presentations from: GMCCI; GMCCI Marketing & Tourism; Senior Resources; Humane Society; MCSA.

8:00 a.m. Saturday, February 8, 2025

Iowa Legislatures report to City Council
Department and division presentations from: Transit; Parking; Refuse Collection; Landfill; Transfer Station; WPCP; Storm Water; Housing.
Begin Review & Discussion of General Fund

6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Presentations on Capital Projects; Debt; Tax Increment Financing (TIF); Road Use Tax (RUT)
Local Option Review

6:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Review and discussion of Proposed Budget
Discussion & decision on Property Tax Public Hearing (may continue on Feb. 15)

8:00 a.m. Saturday, February 15, 2025

Continue discussion & decision on Property Tax Public Hearing (if needed)

6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Special meeting for budget decisions needed for staff to prepare the Budget Statements to Tax Payers

6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Special meeting to approve the Budget Statement to Tax Payers creating a Proposed Property Tax Rate Levy.
Set Public Hearing for April 3 for the Proposed Property Tax Rate Levy.
Proposed Property Tax Levy information submitted to Muscatine County Auditor’s Office for the required mailing.

6:00 p.m. Thursday, April 3, 2025