Mayor Bob Gallagher previews $113 million budget, police-station referendum push and major infrastructure projects for Bettendorf

Mayor Bob Gallagher used his State of the City address to lay out Bettendorf’s financial position, near-term capital projects and public-safety priorities, saying the city will hold the tax levy steady while pursuing a slate of street, sewer and development projects.

The mayor said the city’s proposed budget for the coming year is about $113,000,000 and “funds current service levels across all departments without a raise in the levy,” while the city remains “AA+” rated. He pointed to long-running financial awards for the finance team and said Bettendorf will continue to rely on reserves and targeted capital spending to pay for streets and sewers as growth continues.

Why it matters: the budget underpins plans for new infrastructure, a possible police-station referendum, and a commitment to keep six firefighters on payroll after a federal SAFER grant ends. Those actions affect city services, property taxpayers and development capacity as Bettendorf grows north and east.

Gallagher said the city is pressing ahead on major transportation and utility upgrades to open new development areas. He described a $70,000,000 Iowa Department of Transportation project to build a compressed-diamond interchange at I‑80 and Middle Road that is expected to span multiple construction seasons, and a roughly $10,000,000 lift-station project to increase sewer capacity on the Forest Grove/Mineral Road corridor. He said the city will use tax-increment revenue from the TBK Sports Complex area to help fund a new gateway bridge and trail connections.

On public safety, Gallagher repeated that the police department has outgrown its downtown space and summarized the planning steps taken so far: a 2023 needs study, preliminary design work by Bray Architects in 2024, and selection of Estes Construction as construction manager at risk. He said residents will receive a survey in April and the city hopes to place a police-station referendum on the November ballot, asking, “Can we pull this off?”

The mayor emphasized the city’s commitment to firefighters hired under the federal SAFER grant, saying the city “will continue its commitment to make sure that they're paid, they're fully staffed” once federal funding expires. He also highlighted recent public-safety recognitions and the department’s training investments.

Gallagher reviewed development and tourism gains tied to TBK Sports Complex and downtown initiatives. He noted recent and upcoming private and public projects including a SpringHill Suites ribbon cutting, the ORA Orthopedics project, and continuing downtown beautification led by the Downtown Bettendorf Organization. He said the city recorded roughly $117,000,000 in projects listed in the five-year capital-improvement program (CIP), while acknowledging the city typically averages about $10,000,000 in CIP construction per year.

On parks and community amenities, Gallagher highlighted the Landing ice rink, a planned 12,500-square-foot aquatics facility with slides and a lazy river, expanded library services and museum exhibits, and a growing parks- and-recreation participation rate. He noted maintenance and awards for the parks program and said the city maintains about 670 acres and 37 miles of trails.

Gallagher recounted recent emergency responses — a flood and an EF1 tornado — and said Public Works and other departments handled sandbagging and cleanup, noting roughly 60,000 sandbags and a three-week debris-removal effort after the tornado. He urged residents to attend Public Works Day on May 17 and invited the community to the city’s Citizens Academy scheduled for September.

The address included a mix of near-term directions (a resident survey and a planned November referendum for a police station) and ongoing programs (infrastructure projects, CIP planning, parks and recreation expansions). No formal council votes or ordinance adoptions were reported during the speech.

Ending: Gallagher closed by reiterating high resident satisfaction rates cited in city surveys and thanking department staff and community partners for their work on the projects outlined in the address.