Budget Hearing Amendment ProcessCopyrighted
March 21, 2023
City of Dubuque
Special Meeting Action Items # 01.
IT E M T I T L E:Budget Hearing A mendment Process
S UM M ARY:City A ttorney providing information on the budget hearing amendment
process for City Council discussion.
S UG G E S T E D
D I S P O S I T I O N:
Suggested Disposition: Receive and F ile; Council
AT TAC H ME N TS:
Description Type
Staff Memo Staff Memo
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY DUBUQUE, IOWA
SUITE 330, HARBOR VIEW PLACE, 300 MAIN STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52001-6944
TELEPHONE (563) 589-4381 / FAX (563) 583-1040 / EMAIL cbrumwel@cityofdubuque.org
CRENNA M. BRUMWELL, ESQ.
CITY ATTORNEY
TO: MAYOR BRAD M. CAVANAGH AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: MARCH 20, 2023
RE: BUDGET HEARING REMINDERS
Apologies, for not thinking to send this in advance of the budget hearing process. I
have added an annual reminder to my calendar to do so going forward.
In 2019 and 2021 I provided some advice which I am again providing with some
additional information based on questions that came up at the March 9 th budget hearing.
There is no guidance or rules related to how individual budget hearings are handled in
the state code.
I have previously polled the City Attorneys’ for the largest cities in Iowa and retired City
Clerk Kevin Firnstahl also polled City Clerks’. We asked if communities had a well -
developed process for how items should be set aside during the departmental
presentations/hearings for consideration/deletion/amendment at the final budget hearing.
Attorneys’ responding included those for:
• Des Moines
• West Des Moines
• Iowa City
• Ames.
Unfortunately, none of the responding cities had a clearly outlined process for how
amendments are handled.
It appears other cities handle proposed changes like any other amendment by the Council
with a voice vote. If the amendment passes it becomes part of the roll call vote on the
budget, as amended, at the Final Budget Hearing.
2
The City Council has the ability to agree upon how requests for further consideration
(adding or deleting funding in the budget) will be handled. I have identified a few ways
this could occur, but there may be other options.
Options
1) If one (1) member wants an item held for further discussion or consideration
the item is held for discussion at the Final Budget Hearing.
2) If one (1) member wants an item held for further discussion or consideration,
an informal poll of the Council occurs. If four (4) members agree the item
should be held the item is held for discussion at the Final Budget Hearing.
If there are not four (4) members in agreement to set the item aside for
further consideration the item isn’t held over for further consideration.
3) If one (1) member wants an item held for further discussion or consideration,
an informal poll of the Council occurs. If four (4) members agree the item
should be held the item is held for discussion at the end of the departmental
budget hearings for the evening. If there are not four (4) members in
agreement to set the item aside for further consideration the item isn’t held
over for further consideration. This would require adding an agenda item to
each evening of departmental budget hearings.
4) Members could make motions at each of the hearings for specific items to
be added or deleted from the departmental budget. The prevailing vote of
the Council governs.
Any items are set aside for further consideration during the process would need to be
discussed and resolved at, or prior to, the Final Budget Hearing prior to a vote on the
Final Budget. This means any changes in departmental budgets to increase funding will
require an offset decreasing funding somewhere else.
The State does not allow the City to exceed the amount published in the public hearing
notice for planned expenditures in each of the nine program areas in the final adopted
budget. The nine program areas defined by the State for reporting purposes include:
• Public Safety
• Public Works
• Health and Social Services
• Culture and Recreation
• Community and Economic Development
• General Government
• Debt Service
• Capital Projects
• Business Type
3
The City must assign its various cost centers to one of these programs based on reporting
guidelines prepared by the Iowa Department of Management. In addition, the property
tax levy adopted must equal or be less than the property tax levy published in the notice
of public hearing. This is in accordance with the administrative rules which are intended
to implement Iowa Code chapters 384 and 388.
This is for informational purposes and if you have any questions, please reach out.
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jennifer Larson, Chief Financial Officer