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Communications and GIS offices shift funding, launch Report-to-DBQ and step up air service marketing
Summary
The Communications and GIS offices presented FY2026 budgets April 2 and described a funding shift away from declining cable franchise revenues, the launch of the Report to DBQ citizen-response platform, air-service marketing work, and new GIS field and public apps.
The Communications Office and the city—s Geographic Information System (GIS) team presented FY2026 budgets and described operational changes, digital initiatives and outreach projects at the April 2 special session.
Funding shift as cable revenue falls: Randy Gale, communications director, told council that declining cable franchise fees prompted the city manager—s recommendation to eliminate a vacant part-time communications position and fund remaining communications staff from the general fund. Gale described a long-term decline in video-cable subscribers and said the shift is intended to maintain services while addressing a funding gap.
Why it matters: the communications team produces video streams and public-facing materials used for emergency notifications, recruitment, public-engagement campaigns and internal communications. Council members asked how the shift away from franchise fees affects delivery; staff said the same services will be maintained but funded differently.
Report to DBQ and digital services: staff said the city will launch a consolidated citizen-response management platform called Report to DBQ and that communications will support community rollout and integration with the website. Media services also consolidated live-streaming and video-on-demand platforms into a single system to reduce recurring technology costs from over $20,000 annually to under $5,000, Gale said.
Air service marketing and events: communications staff described a multi-channel marketing campaign to support new air service at Dubuque Regional Airport that includes digital ads, radio, print and earned media. Gale said the office has coordinated the campaign and managed media buys since September. Staff also cited recent work supporting the Growing Sustainable Communities conference and parks-and-recreation marketing and recruitment.
GIS projects: Nikki Rosemeyer, GIS coordinator, outlined current and planned GIS work, including lead service-line construction-management applications, an Adopt-a-Spot community portal, an updated city building inventory and a planned aerial-photography flight in spring 2026. She said GIS created field-data apps for lead-service-line crews, built dashboards for the Adopt-a-Spot volunteer program, and will maintain the aerial imagery used by many departments.
Public comments and next steps: no members of the public spoke on these budgets during the hearing. Council members asked for ongoing metrics on how new online forms and apps are used; staff agreed to return with usage data after systems are launched and operational metrics are collected.
Ending: staff emphasized that services will be maintained while funding sources shift and that the communications and GIS teams will return with usage reports and further implementation details as projects proceed.
