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Board debates FY26 budget, bonding plan and elected-official pay; keeps 10% salary adjustment
Summary
Supervisors discussed the FY26 budget, potential bond issues, debt-service levy strategy and public reaction to proposed tax increases. The board voted to maintain a 10% adjustment for elected officials as part of the budget process.
The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors spent an extended portion of its March 18 meeting discussing the proposed FY26 budget, potential bond sales to fund capital projects, and the public reaction to published property-tax notices.
Board members and staff discussed scenarios for issuing bonds, the countymanagerstafffive-year capital improvement program and constraints imposed by IRS rules on tax-exempt bond proceeds. A county finance staff member explained that arbitrage rules require timely spending of bond proceeds and that delays can trigger interest-rebate penalties to the federal government.
The board reviewed a plan to stagger CIP bond issues approximately every two years to help keep the debt-service levy stable. Staff said an initial issuance amount in the FY26 cycle of about $5 million had been modeled, with subsequent issues spaced to maintain an even repayment schedule, although actual figures will depend on interest rates and final project lists.
Members also discussed the countyportion of proposed tax increases; staff presented a simplified example showing a $263 per $100,000 increase attributable to the three largest entities noted in the publication the board had seen (the county and two major local taxing entities used in the example). County staff said the countyportion of that hypothetical was about $13 per $100,000 at the proposed rates, and emphasized the notice can be difficult for residents to interpret.
Separately, supervisors debated whether to apply a 10% across-the-board increase for elected officials as part of the FY26 package. Several supervisors noted the difference between a 9% and 10% adjustment is small in dollar terms and that the county's elected officials remain below competitive market medians; others raised concern about public perception of a double-digit increase. After discussion the board voted to keep the 10% increase for elected officials as included in the proposed budget.
The board also discussed flexibility for projects included in bond hearings, and staff said projects can be reduced or postponed but that there are legal and technical consequences to removing bonded projects; staff pledged to provide written guidance from bond counsel on consequences and timing before the bond sale process advances.
The board set additional work on the CIP, directed staff to provide further bond-sale timing and legal guidance, and scheduled follow-up budget hearings ahead of the final public hearing on April 21.
