Urbandale officials outline FY26 budget; proposal lowers debt rate, shifts some revenues and proposes stormwater fee rise

City officials presented the proposed fiscal 2026 budget at a Feb. 12 workshop, outlining a mix of tax-rate adjustments, fee changes and program requests to support public safety, stormwater projects and information-technology upgrades.

City Manager David (City Manager) led the presentation, telling the council the draft recommends a total property-tax rate of $10.03 per $1,000 of taxable valuation — a 5¢ decrease from the current rate (10.08). The reduction reflects work to pay down debt service and allows the city to move some revenue to dedicated levies: staff said nearly all of the state-mandated levy shift will be covered by moving a portion of the lost revenue to the employee benefits levy and the police and fire pension levy.

The draft also proposes shifting local funding sources for capital projects. Staff described a multi-year plan to use local-option sales tax proceeds to “buy down” future general-obligation borrowing for capital projects rather than increasing the city’s general levy. That plan relies on building a cash balance in the capital project fund over the next 1–2 years so a larger share…