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Finance director outlines steps to close $439,042 FY2027 budget gap; transit levy, staffing discussed
Summary
Finance Director Ann Hester recommended changes to close a $439,042 shortfall in the FY2027 budget including raising hotel/motel revenue assumptions, delaying a dispatch system transfer, assuming grant funding for a mental health liaison, and maintaining a 36-officer police staffing level; the council considered a 95-cent transit levy for the hearing.
Ann Hester, Finance Director for Coralville City, presented options at the Feb. 24 work session to close a $439,042 gap in the proposed FY2027 budget.
Hester recommended increasing the budgeted hotel/motel tax revenue, removing a planned transfer for a dispatch system until staff can provide more information, and adjusting the mental health liaison line to reflect potential grant funding. She said that if the liaison position is grant-funded mid-year, approximately $50,000 could be available for the council to allocate, potentially toward hiring a police officer partway through the fiscal year. Hester recommended maintaining the current police staffing level of 36 officers.
Hester also reported savings from reduced lobbyist services and updates to MPOJC and ECICOG line items to reflect actual assessment amounts. She said the proposed levy would be $14.50 per $1,000 of assessed value, compared with $14.52 in FY2026. Council members discussed increasing the transit levy to $0.95 for the public hearing and making a final decision before budget adoption in April. Hayworth said additional information on transit funding will be provided at an upcoming meeting.
No formal vote or final budget adoption occurred at the work session.
