Handout_Dollars & CentsUtility 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.
tormwater - 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
Residents have access to the City's
budget, revenue, and spending via
user-friendly websites.
Check them out!
Making Sense of
Dollars and Cents
Explore Dubuque's
Open Expenses
Understanding
Expenses
OPEN BUDGET: OPEN EXPENSES:
dollarsandcents.cityofdubuque.org expenses.cityofdubuque.org
HEALTH &
SOCIAL SERVICES
TRANSFERS
OUT
GENERAL
GOVERNMENT
COMMUNITY &
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
CULTURE &
RECREATION
PUBLIC WORKS
CAPITAL PROJECTS
PUBLIC SAFETY
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 corrles roan:
FY2017 GENERAL FUND REVENUES
SALE OF ASSETS
0.1
PRIVATE
CONTRIBUTIONS
2.3%
COUNTY
1.2%
STATE GRANTS
2.1
FEDERAL
GRANTS
0.1
CHARGES FOR
SERVICES
8.2%
TRANSFERS IN
18.4%
USE OF MONEY
AND PROPERTY
18.1
LICENSES
AND
PERMITS
8.9%
TAXES
40.7
How General Fund Money is Spent
DEBT SERVICE
Where it goes:
FY2017 GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES
HEALTH AND
SOCIAL SERVICES 1.5%
DEBT SERVICE 1.3%
CAPITAL PROJECTS
2.3%
TRANSFERS OUT
6.4%
COMMUNITY AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
5.6%
PUBLIC
WORKS
10.6
PUBLIC
SAFETY
42.7%
GENERAL
GOVERNMENT
12.5%
CULTURE AND
RECREATION
17.2
(animal control, building inspections, crime prevention, emergency
management, flood control, fire, police, etc.)
(AmeriCorps, arts & cultural affairs, civic center, conference center,
library, marina, parks, recreation, etc.)
(city attorney & legal services, city clerk, city council, city hall and
general buildings, city manager, finance, information services, etc.)
(airport, maintenance of streets, bridges, and sidewalks; snow
removal, street cleaning, street lighting, traffic control, etc.)
(economic development, housing and community development,
neighborhood development, planning and zoning, etc.)
(to funds other than General Fund)
(City infrastructure improvements or major equipment purchases)
(community health, health regulation and inspection, human
rights, etc.)
(government capital projects, tax -increment financing [TIF]
capital projects)
City Portion of Property Taxes
$20
$18
$16
$14
$12
$10
$8
$6
$4
$2
$o
FY2017 City Property Tax Rate Comparison
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Dubuque has the SECOND LOWEST FY2017 property tax rate ($11,17 per thousand
assessed value) of Iowa's 11 cities with populations over 50,000.
• Highest -ranked city (Council Bluffs, $17.75) is 59% higher than Dubuque
• Average ($15.33) is 37% higher than Dubuque
Dubuque's Rankings among Iowa's 11 Largest Cities
Category ,-
Taxable Value Per Capita
,1 r a T i s .. ,:
Lowest
City Portion of Property Tax Rate
Second Lowest
Water Rate
Second Lowest
Curbside Collection Rate
Fifth Highest
Sanitary Sewer Rate
Third Highest
Stormwater Rate
Second Highest
Water and Resource Recovery Center
PROPERTY TAX SPLIT
(FY201 6—FY201 7)
NICC INDEPENDENT
1.86%
2.76%
SCHOOL DISTRICT
44.04%
CITY
32.84%
COUNTY
18.51%
Where do your property taxes go?
Property taxes are collected by the County and distributed
monthly to the City of Dubuque and other taxing bodies.
Property taxes are 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.
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.
# Project Description
1 Water and Resource Recovery Center
2 Stormwater Management
Amount Outstanding
$67.8 million
$66.2 million
3 Parking Improvements
4 Water Improvements
5 TIF Rebates/Bonds to Businesses
6 GDTIF Incentives/Improvements
7 Sanitary Sewer Improvements
8 DICW Expansions
9 Roshek Building Loan Guaranty
10 Street Improvements*
$30.7 million
$24.1 million
$19.0 million
$23.6 million
$16.3 million
$9.7 million
$7.5 million
$7.2 million
Total $272.1 million
* Spent $103 million on street improvements from 1997-2015
100
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
90%
Statutory Debt Limit Used (as of June 30)
77%
53%
This chart shows the percentage of statutory
debt limit in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017
recommended budget. By FY2026, the City
will be at 32% of the statutory debt limit.
32%
010N9
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;JFY2017 Recommended Budget
$300 -
$250
$200
$150
$100
$296
Total Debt (in millions)
Debt is being issued each year, but
more is being retired than issued.
c' 2P' Fel-616 02611 F'261g F�261g Fr2p26 0.6\ 02p22 02p23 **47. A 0°1'6 00.6
—111FY2017 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.
$608,480
$596,288
$500,000
$500,000
$500,000
$500,000
$8,328,643
$8,924,931
$9,424,931
$9,924,931
$10,424,931
$10,924,931
www.cityofdubuque.org