The final pieces to the puzzle of the City of Muscatine Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Budget were being put together Wednesday afternoon in preparation for the start of “Budget Season” Thursday, January 26.
City Administrator Carol Webb and Finance Director Nancy Lueck have worked with department heads and members of each department’s staff over the past several months preparing the proposed budget for City Council’s consideration.
Webb will present an overview of the proposed FY 23-24 budget to the City Council during a special Council session at 6:00 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 26). This is the first of a series of budget sessions that will be held in the City Council chambers over the next several weeks.
Council members, Webb, and City staff members will be present in the City Council chambers for each session. All sessions are open to the public.
Public comment during the budget sessions will not be permitted. The public is urged to make notes of any questions or concerns they may have and bring up those questions and concerns during the Public Hearing for the proposed budget that will be held in March.
Thursday’s meeting will be followed by several weeks of presentations to the City Council by the various departments and outside agencies supported by the City of Muscatine. The first session will start at 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28. Sessions will also be held on Jan. 31, Feb. 1, Feb. 2, Feb. 4, Feb. 7, Feb. 8, and Feb. 11. The February 11 meeting will be held only if discussions are not completed at the February 8 session.
A significant change, approved by the Iowa Legislature in 2019, to the annual city budget adoption process is that municipalities are required to hold an additional public hearing to identify “a total maximum property tax dollars to be derived from certain levies in the budget for the next fiscal year”.
The public hearing and the passage of a resolution on the proposed maximum property tax dollars must proceed setting a public hearing on the adoption of the budget.
To help cities meet the requirements of holding two public hearings, the State of Iowa moved back the deadline to file an approved budget with the county auditor for certification to March 31. The previous deadline was March 15.
A complete schedule of the meetings along with additional information can be found at 2023/2024 Proposed Budget on the Finance & Records page of the City of Muscatine website.
CITY OF MUSCATINE FY 2023-2024 BUDGET SESSIONS
Date Location Time Department/Agency
Thursday City Council 6:00 p.m. General Fund Overview
January 26, 2023 Chambers -7:00 p.m. to City Council
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