Budget Overview 2020/21 Fiscal Year
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David's Council Preview |
The Ames City Council meeting starts at 2:00 p.m. this Friday January 31 at City Hall. There is a single agenda item:
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Budget Overview for Recommended 2020/21 Fiscal Year. In this meeting we'll review the numbers that staff believes will make the budget work in the coming fiscal year. The budget is grounded in the services requested by the City Council (present and past), such as streets, public safety, the Public Library, Parks and Recreation, etc. The staff determines how much it will cost to fulfill those requests, and we end up with a target dollar amount. The City also proposes funding sources to pay for that budget target, including property tax, state and federal grants, and utility and service fees. I recommend reading the City Manager's letter to the Mayor and Council describing the highlights of the recommended budget.
As part of the budget process, the City proposes a property tax levy. The tax revenue that the City is aiming for is based on the budget's estimates of what it takes to fund the services that City Council asks for, so that's what the levy is based on as well. In addition, the City's portion of the property tax is generally only about 1/3 of the total property tax that appears on property tax bills, because school districts, Story County, and other jurisdictions also levy property tax for their own budgets.
Next week, Council will meet on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday afternoons at 5:15 to dive into the services being provided by the City departments and the budget resources used to provide them.
Thanks for reading,
David Martin
Third Ward Council Member