OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Sioux City Council FY2027 Proposed Operating Budget Hearing - February 28, 2026

Council Meetings — Saturday, February 28, 2026
BodySioux City, Iowa
SessionCouncil Meetings
DateSaturday, February 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:22:31

Transcript — Verbatim
0:56

Rayford.

0:58

Shaner.

1:00

Scott.

1:03

Okay, go ahead.

1:04

Good morning, Mayor and Council.

1:06

Morning.

1:07

Morning.

1:08

I'm gonna wait for the presentation to come up, hopefully.

1:24

So today we're here to um discuss the proposed operating budget for the FY 2027 budget year.

1:32

First, I'll talk about the uh timeline.

1:35

We have already um went through the CIP here CIP hearing.

1:38

Um back in July, uh we had we have the departments do an entry, um both the CIP and the operating budget.

1:46

Uh then after that we do a um peer review for CIP, um, finance does a um a full review, we do a manager review, uh, we send um questions back to the departments, we do um reviews of um improvement requests, we balance the CIP and the operating budget, and um then we're at this point here.

2:04

Um we bring and present the the best um proposed budget to the council for your review.

2:11

Um beyond that, we once we um get past today, we will do a wrap-up hearing on um March 18th, and beyond that, we'll approve the budget.

2:19

Is the wrap-up on a Wednesday morning?

2:21

That right from 8 30 to noon.

2:24

Right.

2:25

Yep.

2:27

So this year we went um we asked the council for your priorities as we have in the years past.

2:31

Um again this year the top priority from our council was infrastructure.

2:35

Uh the second um in line was quality of life, economic development, followed by health and safety, and then customer service.

2:42

So we what we do when we go through this budget and the departments go through the budget, we take your priorities and try to ensure that the budget is this budget we're presenting to you, um, encompasses all of your priorities in the order in which you provided them to us.

2:58

So the highlights of this year, um, we have a balanced budget, uh, complies with the city's opposite um adopted financial policies.

3:04

Um what we're we're introducing you to you today reduces the property tax levy by 13 um nearly 13.5 percent.

3:11

So we're pretty proud of that um of the product that we've um we're put will be presenting to you today.

3:17

Um, and this maintains all of our core functions, um operating strengths, and preserves the current service um levels across all departments.

3:24

And and point out the property tax levy is going down by 13 percent, but the overall levy is going down as well, correct?

3:31

What?

3:32

The overall levies are going down as well.

3:34

Well, our our part of the levy, yes, and we'll go down 13.5 percent.

3:39

Um now there's a portion of that is the schools and the counties, and we can't control what they do.

3:43

So um our part is a reduction of 13.5 percent.

3:48

Uh budget impacts.

3:49

Um, as you can see, there's a lot of um negative impacts, but we do have some positive impacts this year.

3:55

Um property uh values increased uh 13.3 percent, which is good.

3:59

Um it helps us give relief to our um citizens.

4:02

Uh the rollback percentage was beneficial to us.

4:05

Uh it changed and reduced that.

4:07

So the reduction that you'll see that we present later, 45 dollars of that reduction is uh is um due to the rollback percentage change.

4:15

Um's did not have a change in the contribution.

4:18

Um FPRSI did have a reduction, um, not quite one percent, and um our 411 expenses decreased 13.8 percent last year.

4:27

Negative impacts.

4:28

Um we are still seeing the impacts of a lot of the different Senate files and changes that have happened at legislative level, and um there are certainly other items that are still um up in the air this year for property tax reform.

4:40

Um, as you can see, there's a numerous items.

4:43

Um the Senate file 718 is a very large item that's still impacting us today.

4:47

Um, cumulatively it has been a 2.8 um percent negative to our budget impacts.

4:53

Um house file 252, uh 2552, um, which changed the um property tax credit into a permanent rollback around the first 150,000 dollars, um had nearly a 500,000 reduction to our budget.

5:00

House file 252, 2552, which changed the property tax credit into a permanent rollback around the first 150,000, had nearly a 500,000 reduction to our budget.

5:06

Also, you'll see we use fund balances.

5:08

So each year at the end of our fiscal year, once we do our financial audit, we determine what our funds, what's available in our general fund for us to reprogram.

5:16

So this year we had a excess of 2.8 million dollars that we reprogrammed into this budget.

5:22

Um so we are not taxing our citizens for that portion of the budget.

5:26

We're we're using leftover budget in essence from um last year.

5:30

Um we did have um the increase in um insurance expenses, um, health insurance went up about $340,000, and um general liability expense went up $65,000.

5:41

Also, we saw a reduction in our um local option sales tax of a $750,000.

5:47

So those are all um items that um made this budget difficult um for us to balance.

5:53

Um however, I like I said, I think the staff um budget staff did a really good job of presenting something that we've we're proud of today.

6:02

Um our proposed um 2027 budget, as you see that the CIP budget there is the budget that we've proposed to you.

6:09

We haven't made any reductions or changes to it as that will happen at the wrap-up hearing.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████15%
Public Safety███████████11%
Arts And Culture██████████10%
Personnel Matters███████7%
Public Engagement██████6%
Fiscal Sustainability█████5%
Libraries█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Transportation Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Sioux City Council FY2027 Proposed Operating Budget Hearing

The Sioux City Council held a work session on February 28, 2026, to review the proposed FY2027 operating budget. Finance staff presented a balanced budget that reduces the city’s property tax levy by 13.5%, maintains core services, and reflects a 0.5% increase in operating spending over the adopted FY2026 budget. The presentation covered revenue impacts from state legislative changes, departmental budgets, and improvement requests. Council members and department heads engaged in detailed discussions on potential reductions, service modernization, and funding priorities.

Discussion Items

  • Budget Overview (Finance Director Teresa?) - Proposed FY2027 budget: $261 million entered, reduced by $2.4 million after department reviews. Operating budget increase of 0.5% from FY26. Property tax levy reduction of 13.5% ($110 per $100,000 residential assessed value; $383 per $300,000 commercial). Negative impacts from state actions (SF 718, HF 2552, etc.) totaling over $5 million in lost revenue. Use of $2.8 million in fund balance. Health insurance costs up $340,000; local option sales tax revenue down $750,000.
  • Legal Department (Nicole Du Boy, remote) - Flat budget. No questions.
  • Art Center (Todd Barrens) - Flat budget with slight decrease. Noted a $51,738 error in contributions line (needs correction). Council member proposed reducing city’s general fund contribution by increasing the endowment draw from 3% to 5% to achieve a 50-50 public-private split. Director expressed concern about impact on staff if funding reduced. Mayor suggested bringing a detailed memo to the March 18 wrap-up.
  • Library (Helen Rigdon) - Flat budget; only increase in salaries. Council members discussed potential restructuring (e.g., multiple smaller branches) to reduce budget from ~$4 million to ~$2 million. Library board president Jane Vereen opposed rapid change, citing past consolidation and logistical challenges. Mayor recommended a methodical approach for FY27; council member proposed a 25% cut ($300,000 reduction) for next year. Debate about staffing (office/facilities position). Decision deferred to March wrap-up.
  • Museum (Steve Hansen) - Budget less than status quo. Discussion about closing the Welcome Center (riverboat) to save on staffing and capital costs (upcoming $188,000 repairs). Mayor suggested seeking outside funding instead of closing. Council also discussed sharing custodial services with Art Center. No immediate action.
  • Police Department (Chief Rex Mueller) - Budget reflects strategic planning; focused on staffing and training. Chief addressed criticism of crime statistics comparisons, noting Sioux City’s community policing model and high accreditation. Discussion on school resource officer funding (70% currently paid by schools, renegotiating). Traffic citations down; drug task force presence reduced. Council discussed formalizing a homeless task force position; chief suggested more data needed. Decision to bring officers to a future meeting for input.
  • Fire Department (Chief Ryan Collins) - 2.3% increase; 86% personnel costs. Staffing improved from 16 vacancies to 2. Call volume up 22% over 5 years. Improvement request for an administrative assistant chief ($196,000) – mayor indicated unlikely this year. Council requested memo on hazmat out-of-region calls.
  • Parks & Recreation (Matt Salvatore) - General fund support less than prior year. Pool maintenance challenges: Lewis Park pool needs $125,000 paint job but cannot be completed before season; Leaf pool is in worse condition. Council discussed potential pool closures and impact of new water park. No immediate decision.
  • Events Facilities (Chad Smith) - Budget lower year-over-year. Request for $500,000 “walking around money” to attract more high-quality acts (e.g., Parker McCollum, Lee Brice). Council broadly supportive of some funding but wants performance-based terms. Discussion with Hard Rock about cost-sharing. Mayor asked for a memo detailing the proposal.
  • Transit & Administrative Services (Mike Clott) - Postage costs rising; proposed opt-out fee for paper bills (bring to wrap-up). Airport (essential air service route changes). No action on LEC bus route; mayor maintained position that county should share cost.
  • Economic & Community Development (Marty Doherty) - No major changes. Discussion about building permit fees not raised since 2015; possible fee study. Issues with collection of liens and assessments. Council asked for information on fee increases for neighboring communities using city wastewater system.
  • Water & Underground (Brad Pitts) - Chemical costs at Southbridge plant much higher due to mineral content. Water tank painting needed (Singing Hills). Discussion about developing new well fields to reduce costs.
  • Public Works (Tom Pingle) - Overall budget down 3.6%. Gravel roads maintenance cost $2 million annually – council wants to shift to concrete connectors program. Sidewalk program reform: proposal to replace current 10-year cycle with a cost-share model (three options). Odor issue at wastewater plant: council wants to add $329,000 for increased chemical dosing to reduce smells. Council also asked for options to increase fees on neighboring communities for sewer service.
  • Tourism (Stacey, new director) - Performance-based funding model: $100,000 base plus 50% of hotel/motel tax above $2.4 million. Council discussed resetting the baseline to $2.7 million to reflect inflation. New director to bring proposal to wrap-up.
  • Human Resources (Janelle, via rep) - Flat budget. DEI position now performing other duties (ADA website, job fairs). Council requested memo justifying continuation of that position.
  • Finance & Parking (Teresa) - Presented four parking meter options: eliminate all meters (costly), switch to ParkMobile only, hybrid (ParkMobile plus meters on high-traffic streets), or trial phase in outlier areas. Council leaned toward option 4 (trial) to gather data, with option 3 (hybrid) for July 1. Decision deferred to wrap-up.
  • City Manager & Council - Council discussed logo update (use youth council) and potential council salary increase (deferred). Saturday in the park funding ($10,000) discussed.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Dylan Northrup (DK Insurance/Afford Care Insurance) - Presented the Champ Plan, a Section 125 health insurance plan that he claimed could save the city approximately $4 million annually while increasing take-home pay for employees. He stated that HR declined to meet after initial proposal, and the city instead asked the current broker for evaluation, which he argued was not independent. He requested a working session to review the plan. Council noted legal concerns (pending Florida case). Mayor said city would follow up with memos.
  • Citizen (Chris?) - Commented on sidewalk liability loophole (state statute) and city manager vacancy. Noted budget still increases 0.5%.

Key Outcomes

  • Property Tax Levy Reduction: The proposed budget reduces the city's portion of the property tax levy by 13.5%, resulting in an estimated $110 decrease per $100,000 of residential assessed value.
  • Wrap-Up Hearing Scheduled: March 18, 2026 (8:30 a.m. to noon) to finalize changes. Special meeting for public hearing on tax levy on March 30 at 4:00 p.m. Budget approval and certification by April 20.
  • Memos Requested for Wrap-Up:
    • Art Center: City contribution reduction tied to endowment draw.
    • Library: Multiple proposals for budget reduction (25% cut or $300,000 reduction).
    • Museum: Options for welcome center funding/shared custodial.
    • Police: Memo on hazmat call fees; further discussion on homeless task force officer.
    • Fire: Update on hazmat funding.
    • Parks: Plan for Lewis Park painting and pool evaluation.
    • Public Works: Concrete connector program proposal; sidewalk program overhaul; odor mitigation cost ($329,000); fee increase tiers for neighboring communities.
    • Tourism: Reset baseline for incentive formula.
    • HR: Justification for continuing DEI position.
    • Parking: Council directed staff to bring option 4 (trial of ParkMobile in outlier areas) to wrap-up, with option 3 (hybrid) as target for July 1 implementation.
  • Garbage Fee Increase: Second reading pending; council asked for alternative options (e.g., higher second can fees) before final vote.
  • Health Insurance Proposal: Council agreed to have finance and legal review the Champ Plan and may schedule a working session.
  • City Logo and Council Pay: Discussion tabled to future meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Rayford. Shaner. Scott. Okay, go ahead. Good morning, Mayor and Council. Morning. Morning. I'm gonna wait for the presentation to come up, hopefully. So today we're here to um discuss the proposed operating budget for the FY 2027 budget year. First, I'll talk about the uh timeline. We have already um went through the CIP here CIP hearing. Um back in July, uh we had we have the departments do an entry, um both the CIP and the operating budget. Uh then after that we do a um peer review for CIP, um, finance does a um a full review, we do a manager review, uh, we send um questions back to the departments, we do um reviews of um improvement requests, we balance the CIP and the operating budget, and um then we're at this point here. Um we bring and present the the best um proposed budget to the council for your review. Um beyond that, we once we um get past today, we will do a wrap-up hearing on um March 18th, and beyond that, we'll approve the budget. Is the wrap-up on a Wednesday morning? That right from 8 30 to noon. Right. Yep. So this year we went um we asked the council for your priorities as we have in the years past. Um again this year the top priority from our council was infrastructure. Uh the second um in line was quality of life, economic development, followed by health and safety, and then customer service. So we what we do when we go through this budget and the departments go through the budget, we take your priorities and try to ensure that the budget is this budget we're presenting to you, um, encompasses all of your priorities in the order in which you provided them to us. So the highlights of this year, um, we have a balanced budget, uh, complies with the city's opposite um adopted financial policies. Um what we're we're introducing you to you today reduces the property tax levy by 13 um nearly 13.5 percent. So we're pretty proud of that um of the product that we've um we're put will be presenting to you today. Um, and this maintains all of our core functions, um operating strengths, and preserves the current service um levels across all departments. And and point out the property tax levy is going down by 13 percent, but the overall levy is going down as well, correct? What? The overall levies are going down as well. Well, our our part of the levy, yes, and we'll go down 13.5 percent. Um now there's a portion of that is the schools and the counties, and we can't control what they do. So um our part is a reduction of 13.5 percent. Uh budget impacts. Um, as you can see, there's a lot of um negative impacts, but we do have some positive impacts this year. Um property uh values increased uh 13.3 percent, which is good. Um it helps us give relief to our um citizens. Uh the rollback percentage was beneficial to us. Uh it changed and reduced that. So the reduction that you'll see that we present later, 45 dollars of that reduction is uh is um due to the rollback percentage change. Um's did not have a change in the contribution. Um FPRSI did have a reduction, um, not quite one percent, and um our 411 expenses decreased 13.8 percent last year. Negative impacts. Um we are still seeing the impacts of a lot of the different Senate files and changes that have happened at legislative level, and um there are certainly other items that are still um up in the air this year for property tax reform. Um, as you can see, there's a numerous items. Um the Senate file 718 is a very large item that's still impacting us today. Um, cumulatively it has been a 2.8 um percent negative to our budget impacts. Um house file 252, uh 2552, um, which changed the um property tax credit into a permanent rollback around the first 150,000 dollars, um had nearly a 500,000 reduction to our budget. House file 252, 2552, which changed the property tax credit into a permanent rollback around the first 150,000, had nearly a 500,000 reduction to our budget. Also, you'll see we use fund balances.

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