The budget is forecast to be balanced in 2027, with a projected surplus of $800 thousand. However, projections for 2028 are in the red at $2.6 million.
The city will need to determine how much assessed valuation they will ultimately capture. The 2026 budget, approved last summer, failed to capture 1.6% of the total assessed valuation growth. It essentially gave city residents a $2.6 million property tax break, dropping the mill levy by .48 mills.
Other question marks remain, including interest earnings forecasts, homelessness costs and employee compensation. The city has around $40 million in reserve funds, which could help balance the checkbook. City Manager Dennis Marstall will present the proposed budget to the city council on July 14.
At Tuesday's council workshop, we also heard very positive news concerning the Northwest Water treatment facility.
Gary Janzen with the city says they are making progress on repairs at the plant. All materials are all on-site as the contractor continues their work but weather woes have impacted the repair schedule a bit. Despite that, the plant should restart in June as performance testing and acceptance begins again. The city hopes to take possession of the plant in September, followed by 6 months of operations before taking it fully live next spring, before the peak demand months of the summer.
Meanwhile, the city continues work on a 20-year master plan for Eisenhower National Airport.
The roughly $350 million plan addresses airport needs, including a new fire station. There have been discussions on building an additional parking structure as well. A new air traffic control tower is on the wish list too. The current tower was built in 1983 and is too short. Because of those limitations, the parking garage can't have a covering over the top floor as it would block the tower's view of parts of the runway.
Once the plan is finalized, it will be submitted to the FAA.
