City of Dubuque Dollars & Cents Brochure Copyright 2014
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 5.
ITEM TITLE: City of Dubuque Dollars & Cents Brochure
SUMMARY: City Manager transmitting the City of Dubuque's Dollars &
Cents public information brochure that describes the City's
utility rates, property taxes, online open budget access,
general revenues and expenditures, and debt reduction
plan.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Dubuque Dollars & Cents Brochure Supporting Documentation
BU
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QDLLARS CENTS
Utility Customer Rates & Fees
What's included in your monthly utility bill?
Curbside Collection - Basic Rate = $14.77/month
Curbside collection includes one 35-gallon container per week. Weekly curbside recycling is no extra charge.
Sanitary Sewer - Avg. Household Rate* = $38.10/month
*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.
Avg. Household Rate* = $6.81/month
*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.
{ Water - Avg. Household Rate* = $27.60/month
*Average household rate based on 6,000 gallons per month at$0.0046 per gallon
For additional information, visit www.cityofdubuque.org/utilitybilling or call 563-589-4144
DID YOU KNOW? Explore Dubuque's ExploreD • • -
Open Budget Open Expenseo
Residents have access to the City's
budget, revenue, and spending via
user-friendly websites.
Check them out. _
Making Sense of Understanding
Dollars and Cents Expenses
OPEN BUDGET: OPEN EXPENSES:
dollarsandcents.cityofdubuque.org expenses.cityofdubuque.org
General Fund
The general fund is the general operating fund of the City for general service departments. These general service departments include public
safety, public works, engineering, health services, human rights, economic development, housing, planning, parks, recreation, conference
center, civic center, library, information services,finance, personnel, legal services, city manager, city council, and city clerk. In Fiscal Year
2017,the general fund is budgeted to collect $20,625,981 in property taxes,which is 37%of the total revenue collected in the general fund.
As shown in the top left chart,the City's general fund revenues come from several sources:taxes, use of money and property,transfers in,
licenses and permits, and more. The top right pie chart shows how the general fund revenues are budgeted to be spent.
Where it comes from: Where it goes:
FY2017 GENERAL FUND REVENUES FY2017 GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES
HEALTH AND
SOCIAL SERVICES 1.5%
CAPITAL PROJECTS DEBT SERVICE 1.3%
SALE OF ASSETS PPTRFANS"FERS IN TRANSFERS OUT 2.3%
0.1 TN
ITY AND 6.4%
P AIVATE COMMUNVELOPCONTRIBUTIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
2IBU >ARGEFOR TAXES 5.6%
%
COUNTY PUBLIC
2% OR
0.6% SAFETY
STATE GRANTS
PROPERTY LICENSES
FEDERAL
GRANTS
0.1%
A EC REATI ON
How General Fund Money is Spent
43 O/ . , L (animal control, building inspections, crime prevention, emergency
O management,flood control,fire, police, etc.)
1 Q/ (AmeriCorps, arts&cultural affairs, civic center, conference center,
O I library, marina, parks, recreation, etc.)
GENERAL (city attorney& legal services, city clerk, city council, city hall and
13% I general buildings, city manager,finance, information services, etc.)
11 O/ (airport, maintenance of streets, bridges, and sidewalks; snow
O removal, street cleaning, street lighting,traffic control, etc.)
6 Q/ r (economic development, housing and community development,
Q r r r r' neighborhood development, planning and zoning, etc.)
Q TRANSFERS (to funds other than General Fund)
O OUT
2%
(City infrastructure improvements or major equipment purchases)
O
HEALTH &
(community health, health regulation and inspection, human
Q
1 �Q SOCIAL SERVICES nights, etc.)
O SERVICE (government capital projects,tax-increment financing[TIF]
O capital projects)
City Portion of Property Taxes PROPERTY TAX SPLIT
(FY2016—FY2017)
$20 FY2017 City Property Tax Rate Comparison NICO INDEPENDENT
$1e 2.76Y 1.66Y
$16
$14
$12 '$10
$8 CIT
$6
SCHOOLDISTRICT
$4 44.04%
$2
$0 p
P Where do your property taxes go?
Dubuque has the SECOND LOWEST FY2017 property tax rate($11.17 per thousand Property taxes are collected by the County and distributed
assessed value)of Iowa's 11 cities with populations over 50,000. monthly to the City of Dubuque and other taxing bodies.
• Highest-ranked city(Council Bluffs,$17.75) is 59% higher than Dubuque Property taxes are are distributed among the Dubuque
• Average($15.33) is 37% higher than Dubuque Community School District(44.04%), City of Dubuque
(32.84%), Dubuque County(18.51%), Northeast Iowa
Dubuque's Rankings among Iowa's 11 Largest Cities Community College(2.76%), and independent authorities
(1.86%).
Category Dubuque's
Property taxes are certified July 1 with the first half due on or
Taxable Value Per Capita Lowest before September 30 and the second half due on or before
City Portion of Property Tax Rate Second Lowest March 31. For more information, contact the City Assessor at
Water Rate Second Lowest 563-589-4416.
Curbside Collection Rate Fifth Highest * "Independent Authorities"includes City Assessor, County
Sanitary Sewer Rate Third Highest Hospit3l(SunnycrestM3nor), Dubuque County Agriculture
Stormwater Rate Second Highest Extension,and the Tuberculosis and Brucellosis Er3dic36on Fund.
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 these low interest
rates to invest in infrastructure. Unlike the federal government,the City does not
borrow money to cover operating expenses.
ON W_ _w
Top 10 Debt of 12017)
# Project Description Amount Outstanding
Water and Resource Recovery Center 1 Water and Resource Recovery Center $67.8 million
2 Stormwater Management $66.2 million
3 Parking Improvements $30.7 million
4 Water Improvements $24.1 million
5 TIF Rebates/Bonds to Businesses $19.0 million
6 GDTIF Incentives/Improvements $23.6 million
7 Sanitary Sewer Improvements $16.3 million
8 DICW Expansions $9.7 million
9 Roshek Building Loan Guaranty $7.5 million
10 Street Improvements* $7.2 million
Total $272.1 million
*Spent$103 million on street improvements from 1997-2015
100%
90% Statutory Debt Limit Used (as of lune 30)
90
77%
80
70%
60% 53%
50%
ao%
This chart shows the percentage of statutory 32%
30% debt limit in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017
20% recommended budget. By FY2026, the City
will be at 32% of the statutory debt limit.
10%
0% W W ry
0,0''9 W
B`"07p B`"dy5 B`"dy6
�FY2017 Recommended Budget
$296 Total Debt (in millions)
$300
$290
$250 $244
$200
$164
$150 Debt is being issued each year, but
more is being retired than issued.
$100
�FY2017 Recommended 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$2.6 million (41.5%) over the next six years.
I I I I
$608,480 $596,288 $500,000 $500,000 $500,000 $500,
000
. . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . .
$8,3 , , , , , , , , , ,
931
www.cityofdubuque.org