Hawarden staff outlines FY27 budget timeline, cleanup and grant deadlines

At the March 11 meeting, city staff outlined the FY27 budget timeline and several community events and grant deadlines.

Travis reported that Jacob has the overall budget timeline on track and that the council is expected to set a public hearing for the property tax levy on March 25. "Next meeting March 25th we'll set a public hearing for the property tax levy," Travis said. He said April 8 will include the levy hearing and a regular meeting to set the public hearing for budget adoption; the council is expected to hold the public hearing and adopt the budget later in April (council referenced April 27 as the adoption meeting date).

Staff also announced a household hazardous-waste drop-off on Friday, May 1 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the City Street Shop (717 7th Street) and a citywide cleanup running May 1–3 at 13th Street and Avenue D, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. Staff cautioned that camping is available but water service for camping sites likely will not be turned on until about April 15, weather permitting.

Carol said staff are preparing grant applications tied to flood recovery, noting USDA and Iowa Economic Development Authority funding opportunities to cover portions of flood relief; she said staff are assembling FEMA-related numbers for grant portals and encouraged local businesses to attend an April 1 workshop on foreign trade zones.

The council did not alter the timeline during the meeting; staff said more detailed budget discussion would occur at upcoming meetings.