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Pawnee City reviews FY 2024–25 draft budget; auditor warns water bond limits options
Summary
City Auditor Julie Bauman presented the first draft of the FY 2024–25 budget, saying revenues currently support a balanced budget but warning that existing water bond obligations and a proposed $300,000 engineering allowance could limit the city's ability to add another bond payment; final draft set for Aug. 26 and public hearing Sept. 9.
City Auditor Julie Bauman presented the first draft of Pawnee City’s Fiscal Year 2024–25 budget at the council’s Aug. 12 workshop, saying the document did not yet include updated county valuation figures but that current revenue projections "make the budget balance." Bauman said she included $300,000 in engineering fees in the water budget even though the city has not decided whether to proceed with a new well project.
Bauman told the council the city’s existing water bond payment is about $130,000 a year and is not scheduled to be paid off for another 11 years, making it difficult to take on an additional bond payment without raising rates or reallocating funds. "That’s a long time to be doubling up on water bond payments," she said. Clerk Tamela Curtis said a water and sewer rate study by Nebraska Rural Water Association is scheduled for Aug. 20 and will help the city determine whether current rates can support an additional bond payment.
Council members followed Bauman through line-by-line fund worksheets, with clerks and the auditor explaining the basis for individual budgeted amounts. Bauman said she planned to present a final draft to the council at the Aug. 26 regular meeting; the formal FY 2024–25 budget hearing is set for Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
The workshop included routine motions unrelated to the budget, including approval of earlier minutes and vendor claims. Council Member Susan Eisenhauer moved to accept the July 22 meeting minutes; the motion passed on roll call.
What happens next: the council will review the final draft at its Aug. 26 meeting and hold the public budget hearing on Sept. 9. The city expects to receive Pawnee County’s valuation update in the days after the workshop, which could alter property tax request figures before adoption.
