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On budget, city administrator calls FY2018 ‘taking our medicine’ year
by Rick DeClue · News · January 19, 2017
Property valuations are up – with an asterisk – and a comparison of property tax levies in Iowa communities with populations of 1,800 – 3,000 people has good news for West Branch residents.
The city’s overall property valuation for fiscal year 2018 increased 3.3 percent to $138.3 million. This compares favorably with the last seven years, which showed a total increase of 21.2 percent, though some years were up and some down over that period.
The asterisk in this year’s figures derives from a necessary increase in the “asking” for the Tax Increment Financing funding in West Branch’s proposed 2018 budget currently under consideration by the City Council. An increase of $100,000 in the TIF asking will support Phase 1 park improvements approved by voters in November 2015.
In his Weekly City Update, City Administrator Matt Muckler wrote, “that decision means that additional (property) value will be needed to generate the extra $100,000 in TIF revenue, decreasing the amount of property tax revenue that the City of West Branch would otherwise receive in its general fund.”
He referred to this as “taking our medicine this year” in addressing the Jan. 3 council meeting.
The result is that the general fund will reflect a property tax increase of 0.9 percent after the adjustment for TIF. Property taxes account for approximately 37 percent of the city’s annual revenue. Unless the council approves TIF funding for other projects, future valuations and budgets should not be affected, Muckler said.
Finally, he pointed to potential for future growth in the city in both residential and commercial development.
Projects anticipated over the next five to 10 years include additional houses in The Meadows, Lynch Heights and Cookson subdivisions, with the Hilltop project in Pedersen Valley and the downtown east redevelopment of the Croell Redi-Mix site also possible.
Commercial development is planned for Phase 3 of The Meadows. The conclusion of the Procter & Gamble Phase 3 TIF deal and another structure known as “the R3W property,” coming onto the tax rolls at its full value, will also support future budgets.
Finance Director Gordon Edgar showed the council a comparison of tax levies in which 42 of the 56 comparable-sized cities have higher levies than West Branch’s $12.59 per $1,000 in value. The group’s average of $14.52 per thousand ranges from a low of $8.10 for Fairfax to a high of $23.67 for Eldora. The comparison did not detail services each city provided for its levy.
Levies of certain nearby larger communities are as follows: West Liberty $14.37 per thousand; Tipton $13.36; Iowa City $16.58; and Coralville $13.52.
In other budget items, several preliminary department budgets drew little concern from council members.
A proposed police department budget of $97,396, up 5.6 percent, reflects a $3,000 increase in the department’s set-aside for replacement vehicles and a $2,146 increase for equipment.
Police Chief Mike Horihan said vehicle prices and “upfit” costs for vehicle electronics are going up.
The equipment line represents the purchase of record keeping software that will put the department on the same platform as other county agencies. This will help communication with those agencies and includes a transfer of the department’s existing records to the new system.
The West Branch Public Library proposed budget increased $19,400, or 7.5 percent, to $276,200. All but $3,000 of the increase will need to be covered from general fund revenues.
Two items, salaries and building maintenance, represent almost all of the increase. Building work will include improvements to the building’s restrooms.
In a $387,300 proposed budget, virtually unchanged from last year, the Public Works Department anticipates spending $50,000 for concrete street patching on Four Street from north of East Main Street to the new Fourth Street surface beginning at the veterinary clinic.
An additional $71,000 is forecast for seal coating a portion of the city cemetery, including widening the traffic/parking area around the Honor Circle, plus crack sealing and an asphalt overlay on Main Street east of Downey Street to Parkside Drive.
The council will also consider the seventh and eighth versions of the city’s Total Compensation forecast at its Jan. 17 meeting. So far, proposed total net wage and salary increases range from $22,000 to $29,000 in the various proposals, with individual increases from 1 to 6 percent depending on current pay levels, i.e 1 percent for employees over $75,000 to 6 percent for employees making less than $45,000.
In addition, three full-time police officers and the city’s Parks and Recreation Director are scheduled for increases of $2,000 each. A proposed part-time administrative position in the city’s office was initially proposed, but has been all but eliminated.
The council is solidly in favor of a cap of no more than a 5-percent increase in total city employment costs.
Final figures for the cost of the city’s health insurance plan were not available in early January. Though the cost of the city’s health plan actually fell last year, a significant increase this year could alter the proposed compensation figures.
Another budget work session was scheduled following the Jan. 17 council meeting.
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