Dollars and Cents Public Information Brochure
Kevin Firnstahl
From:Mike Van Milligen
Sent:Tuesday, August 01, 2017 7:56 PM
To:Roy D. Buol; Luis Del Toro; Ric W. Jones; Kevin J. Lynch; David T. Resnick; Jake A. Rios;
Thomas Barton; Joyce E. Connors
Cc:Maureen Quann; Kevin Firnstahl; Teri Goodmann; Crenna Brumwell; Jenny Larson;
Alexis Steger; Randy Gehl
Subject:Debt information (for City Council and media) - 43% of statutory debt limit by FY
2022
Attachments:Dubuque%20Dollars%20and%20Cents_May%202%202017_sngl%20pgs.pdf;
ATT00001.txt
http://cityofdubuque.org/DocumentCenter/View/32983
1
DubuqueDOLLARS&CENTS
Property taxes are collected by the County and distributed monthly to the City
of Dubuque and other taxing bodies. Property taxes are distributed among the
Dubuque Community School District (44.04%), City of Dubuque (32.84%),
Dubuque County (18.51%), Northeast Iowa Community College (2.76%), and
independent authorities* (1.86%).
Property taxes are certified July 1 with the first half due on or before
September 30 and the second half due on or before March 31. For more
information, contact the City Assessor at 563-589-4416.
* “Independent Authorities” includes City Assessor, County Hospital
(Sunnycrest Manor), Dubuque County Agriculture Extension, and the
Tuberculosis and Brucellosis Eradication Fund.
44.04%
32.84%
18.51%
2.76%1.86%
Property Tax Split: FY2016-2017
School District City County NICC Independent
SCHOOL
DISTRICT
CITY
COUNTY
NICC INDEPENDENT
City Portion of Property Taxes
Dubuque has the SECOND LOWEST FY2018 property tax rate
($10.89 per thousand assessed value) of Iowa’s 11 cities with
populations over 50,000.
• Highest-ranked city (Council Bluffs, $17.91) is 64% higher
than Dubuque
• Average ($15.31) is 41% higher than Dubuque
FY2018 City Property Tax Rate Comparison
$10.37 $10.89
$12.29 $12.78
$15.22 $15.31 $16.07 $16.33 $16.78 $17.52 $17.86 $17.91
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
$16
$18
$20
Ames Dubuque Ankeny West Des
Moines
Cedar
Rapids
Average
w/o
Dubuque
Sioux City Iowa City Davenport Waterloo Des
Moines
Council
Bluffs
City of Dubuque FY2018 Property Tax Rate
• $10.89 per thousand dollars of assessed value
• A 2.47% reduction from FY2017’s rate of $11.17
• No property tax increase for average residential property
owner, 2.47% decrease for average commercial property,
2.47% decrease for average industrial property, 6.71%
decrease for average multi-residential property
Property
Type
Average Property
Tax Cost Change
from FY2017
Percent Property
Tax Cost Change
from FY2017
Residential No Change No Change
Commercial $83.20 less 2.47% decrease
Industrial $124.43 less 2.47% decrease
Multi-
Residential $144.91 less 6.71% decrease
Where do your property taxes go?
$129,444,628
$40,268,319
Fiscal Year 2018 City Budget
OPERATING BUDGET CAPITAL BUDGET
OPERATING BUDGET
CAPITAL BUDGET
Fiscal Year 2018 City Budget
General Fund
City Budget
General Fund Reserve Projections
The City maintains a general fund reserve, or working balance, to allow for unforeseen expenses that may occur. The reserve
will increase by $5.925 million (54.24%) over the next seven years.
FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022
Contribution $1,000,000 $600,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $100,000
City’s Spendable General Fund Cash
Reserve Fund Balance $11,924,435 $9,866,669 $10,916,669 $11,966,669 $13,016,669 $14,091,669 $14,191,669
% of Projected Revenue (Moody’s)17.52%14.20%15.60%17.11%18.54%20.00%20.49%
The City’s approved budget provides estimated revenues and expenditures
for programs and services to be provided during the fiscal year, from
July 1 through June 30. The budget has two primary components: the
operating budget and the capital budget.
The City’s total budget for fiscal year 2018 is $169,712,947, an 8.34
percent reduction from FY2017. The operating budget ($129,366,969)
is a 0.14 percent reduction from FY2017 while the capital budget
($40,268,319) represents a 27.47 percent reduction from FY2017.
The capital budget funds major improvements to City facilities and
infrastructure, and is based on the first year of needs in the five-year
Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Plan. The CIP Plan is an annually
revised document that guides the City’s investments in public facilities
The general fund is the general operating fund of the City for general service
departments. The general fund has an operating budget of $61 million and a capital
budget of $1.4 million. This fund encompasses the bulk of activities that are
traditionally considered basic governmental services such as public safety, culture &
recreation, health & social services, and general government.
How General Fund Money is Spent
Category Description Portion of General Fund
Public Safety (animal control, building inspections, crime prevention, emergency
management, flood control, fire, police, etc.)43.6%
Culture & Recreation (AmeriCorps, arts & cultural affairs, civic center, conference center, library,
marina, parks, recreation, etc.)17.7%
General Government (city attorney & legal services, city clerk, city council, city hall & general
buildings, city manager, finance, information services, etc.)12.4%
Public Works (airport, maintenance of streets, bridges, and sidewalks; snow removal, street
cleaning, street lighting, traffic control, etc.)9.6%
Community & Economic
Development
(economic development, housing and community development, neighborhood
development, planning and zoning, etc.)6.1%
Transfers Out (to funds other than General Fund)5.8%
Capital Projects (City infrastructure improvements or major equipment purchases)2.1%
Health & Social Services (community health, health regulation and inspection, human rights, etc.)1.3%
Debt Service (government capital projects, tax-increment financing [TIF] capital projects)1.3%
and infrastructure during a five-year time horizon. The capital
budget is supported through multiple funding sources.
The operating budget includes personnel costs and annual facility
operating costs. It is funded primarily through local property and
sales taxes; revenue transfers between departments; licenses,
such as building and development fees; franchise fees for a
company’s use of the City’s rights-of-way; charges for services
(like sewer and water); fines and other smaller sources of revenue
such as interest on investments.
*Average household rate based on 6,000 gallons per month at $0.0047 per gallon
*Monthly rate for majority of Dubuque households based on usage of one single
family unit. Stormwater fees are based on the amount of impervious ground
coverage on a property. Fees collected are only used for stormwater management
activities such as the construction, maintenance and operation of the public
stormwater management system.
Curbside collection includes one 35-gallon container per week. Weekly curbside
recycling is no extra charge.
*Average household rate based on 6,000 gallons per month at $0.00635 per gallon.
When you wash your hands, wash the dishes, flush the toilet, or take a shower,
the “wastewater” that goes down the drain flows through the interior plumbing,
out of the house, and eventually into the City’s sanitary sewer system. The City’s
wastewater collection and treatment system operates as a self-supporting enterprise
fund which means that it is funded only with revenue from user fees.
Curbside Collection - Basic Rate = $15.11/month
(2.3% increase from FY2017 or $0.34 per month)
Sanitary Sewer - Avg. Household Rate* = $39.24/month
(3% increase from FY2017 or $4.14 per month)
Stormwater - Avg. Household Rate* = $7.27/month
(6.75% increase from FY2017 or $0.46 per month)
Water - Avg. Household Rate* = $28.43/month
(3% increase from FY2017 or $0.83 per month)
Utility Customer Rates & Fees for Fiscal Year 2018 (July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018)
What’s included in your monthly utility bill?
For additional information, visit www.cityofdubuque.org/utilitybilling or call 563-589-4144
DID YOU KNOW?
Residents have access to the City’s
budget, revenue, and spending via
user-friendly websites.
Check them out!
OPEN BUDGET:
dollarsandcents.cityofdubuque.org
Explore Dubuque’sOpen Budget
Making Sense of
Dollars and Cents
OPEN EXPENSES:
expenses.cityofdubuque.org
Explore Dubuque’sOpen Expenses
Understanding
Expenses
Rev. 5/2/17
F Y 2 0 1 5 F Y 2 0 1 6 F Y 2 0 1 7 F Y 2 0 1 8 F Y 2 0 1 9 F Y 2 0 2 0 F Y 2 0 2 1 F Y 2 0 2 2 F Y 2 0 2 3 F Y 2 0 2 4 F Y 2 0 2 5 F Y 2 0 2 6 F Y 2 0 2 7
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
64%
43%
24%
90%
FY2018 Adopted Budget
This chart shows the percentage of statutory debt limit
in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 adopted budget. By FY2027,
the City will be at 24% of the statutory debt limit.
Statutory Debt Limit Used (as of June 30)
$140
$160
$180
$200
$220
$240
$260
$280
$300
$320
M i l l i o n s
F Y 2 0 1 5 F Y 2 0 1 6 F Y 2 0 1 7 F Y 2 0 1 8 F Y 2 0 1 9 F Y 2 0 2 0 F Y 2 0 2 1 F Y 2 0 2 2 F Y 2 0 2 3 F Y 2 0 2 4 F Y 2 0 2 5 F Y 2 0 2 6 F Y 2 0 2 7
FY2018 Adopted Budget
$296
$228
$146
$282
Total Debt (in millions)
Debt is being issued each year, but
more is being retired than issued.
The City of Dubuque’s use of debt can be
compared to many average homeowners
who borrow to buy their home. The City
has borrowed money at low interest rates to
invest in infrastructure. Unlike the federal
government, the City does not borrow money
to cover operating expenses.
Top 10 Debt Uses (as of June 30, 2018)
# Project Description Amount Outstanding
1 Water and Resource Recovery Center $67.8 million
2 Stormwater Management $74.2 million
3 Parking Improvements $30.5 million
4 Water Improvements $30.8 million
5 TIF Rebates/Bonds to Businesses $20.9 million
6 GDTIF Incentives/Improvements $22.8 million
7 Sanitary Sewer Improvements $14.0 million
8 DICW Expansions $9.7 million
9 Street Improvements* $4.2 million
10 Airport Improvements $3.6 million
Total $278.5 million
* $117 million was spent on street improvements from 1997-2016
Debt Reduction Plan
Water and Resource Recovery Center
Street improvements
Parking improvements
Stormwater management