SIOUX CITY — Sioux City Council members expressed a desire Friday to hold the line on the property tax levy and maintain city services at their current levels, but also acknowledged that some tough decisions will have to be made during the fiscal 2024 budgeting process.
The council discussed their budget priorities and concerns, during a special hour-long meeting. However, the council won’t begin reviewing the fiscal 2024 operating and capital improvement program budgets until January.
Councilwoman Julie Schoenherr said she wants to make Sioux City better by growing up, rather than worrying about growing out. She said growing out is what costs the city and taxpayers a lot of money.
Schoenherr
“I would like to see us do the things that need to be done, holding the line, trying to do the cleanup, increasing the lighting, making our citizens’ quality of life better and safer, without lots of capital expenditures and without increasing lots of staffing,” she said.
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City Finance Director Teresa Fitch cited a number of budget concerns, including increases in general liability insurance rates and the police and fire pension fund, as well as the Iowa Legislature’s phase-out of the “backfill” or funding to cities, counties and schools, whose revenue was impacted by reductions to certain property taxes. And, like residents, the city is fighting inflation.
The city has $40.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to spend on water, sewer and broadband projects, as well as public health and negative economic impacts. The city has until Dec. 31, 2024 to allocate the funds and an additional two years to spend them.
“I think that we’re spending more money. I’m not so sure that we’re getting more done, because the cost is so much higher,” Fitch said of city infrastructure projects.
Creating affordable housing and increasing safety downtown rose to the top of the council’s budget priorities list.
“We are investing a lot in downtown housing projects. We’re going to have more that are coming onboard. You have the Benson Building, the Badgerow Building — all of these great projects. People need to feel secure in downtown,” said Councilman Alex Watters, who noted that the council previously voted to direct one officer to focus on downtown. “And, now, we’re investing millions of dollars in our riverfront and welcoming new tourists to our community. I worry about the beautification.”
Fitch asked Watters if he is interested in increasing police presence or looking to support the downtown façade improvement program at a higher level. Watters said he would like to have a discussion with Police Chief Rex Mueller to see if having that officer downtown “moved the needle.”
Scott
Mayor Bob Scott interjected that, “Lights have more control over bad behavior than any cop we’ve ever put in downtown.”
Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore said he thinks the city needs a full-time maintenance person devoted to cleaning up the downtown.
“There are tenants that I see walking out of the office buildings downtown; and they pick up garbage on their way to the car. They’ll see it and pick it up. But, not everybody does that. So, I think we need to put person-hour behind the beautification,” he said.
Councilman Matthew O’Kane said he thinks the police department should have an officer who can specifically investigate cyber crimes.
“As I understand it now, if they seize any electronics or somebody that they’re trying to bust or somebody that they’ve arrested for drugs or violent crime, we currently are sending electronics away and might not get them back for a month or two. And, by that time, the individual might be back on the street,” he said.
City Manager Bob Padmore said the city doesn’t have the ability to assign one person to do that, because the police force just isn’t large enough, and, he said he doesn’t think the city could afford to have such a person on staff.
Scott said the city should be looking at what other cities are doing in effort to save money. For example, he said he remembers reading that Lincoln wasn’t plowing side streets after a 2-inch snowfall.
“It’s a huge, huge overtime savings. Now, that doesn’t mean that they don’t necessarily get done, but they don’t get done on overtime,” he said.
Moore said 2 inches of snow could very well do a lot of drifting and prevent people from getting their vehicles out.
“I understand that. But, in this day and age, which one of you doesn’t have a front-wheel drive car or four-wheel drive?” Scott said.
