Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Forecast topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Waterloo Local treasurer warns five-year forecast shows multi-year deficits; board urged to plan for levy renewal
Summary
The Waterloo Local treasurer told the board the district—aces projected deficits in the five-year forecast (roughly $900,000 in the near-term and about $3.9 million in a later year under current assumptions), noting a state guarantee partly cushions losses and that the district must plan for a levy renewal and rising benefits costs.
The Waterloo Local treasurer told the school board the district—aces projected shortfalls in its five-year forecast and urged trustees to plan for a levy renewal and other cost pressures.
During the meeting the treasurer said the forecast shows the district about $900,000 "in the red" in the earlier projection years and roughly $3.9 million in a later year if current assumptions hold. The treasurer said those figures assume current property values and anticipated increases in wages and benefits, and that the district cannot assume a levy will pass. "If it does not pass, we would start to see that happen in the mid of fiscal 29," the treasurer said.
The treasurer noted a state-level funding guarantee built into recent budget bills that limits losses relative to earlier funding levels; that guarantee was described in the meeting as "somewhere around a million and a half dollars." The treasurer emphasized the guarantee is subject to future state budgets and could be removed in a subsequent biennial bill.
Why it matters: Waterloo Local receives about 54% of its funding from local taxes, the treasurer said, which makes the district sensitive to changes in property-tax policy and state funding formulas. The treasurer warned that timing changes in state forecast filing requirements and large assumed increases in health insurance premiums and other benefits drive uncertainty in later years of the forecast.
Board members and the treasurer discussed the assumptions behind the numbers: how property valuations, collective-bargaining outcomes and health-insurance cost trends are modeled, and how filing deadlines changed (the state now requires an October and February filing in the near term). The treasurer said the forecast years remain a projection built on assumptions and that the district has "two-ish years to prepare," urging early conversations about levy timing and contingency planning.
The treasurer also told trustees the district is drawing down on an available cash balance in the projections and that long-term scenarios show spending exceeding revenue without action: "We're going to be having the same conversation in three months," the treasurer said, referring to the next forecast filing cycle.
What—omes next: The board voted to approve the five-year forecast as presented. Trustees and administration signaled they will continue to study levy timing, benefit-cost management and other options for closing projected gaps. No formal levy decision was made at the meeting.
Attribution: Quotes and figures in this article come from the treasurer's presentation and board discussion during the forecast segment of the board meeting.
