Council to vote on budget, new roof for City Hall

BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

FORT MADISON - City officials will vote on Tuesday to approve the 2018-19 fiscal year budget as well as spending $107,470 on a new roof for City Hall.

At Tuesday's regular meeting of the Fort Madison City Council, councilman will vote on a budget that includes a 15.564 general mil levy. That number compares to the 2017-18 fiscal year budget levy of $15.911 and is the amount the city collects per $1,000 of assessed valuation of city residential, commercial, and industrial property.

The city is maxed out on its $8.10/$1,000 regular general levy, an amount capped by Iowa law, so they are permitted a .27/1,000 emergency levy. Outside of the $8.10, the city levies for liability, property and any self-insurance costs, local emergency management services, employee benefits such as retirement, and debt service. The city can also levy on agricultural land but at a reduced $3/1,000 assessed valuation rate. Outside of the agricultural levy, those levies total $15.564. The levy is the lowest since FY2014 when it was set at $14.8.

The city is also voting on awarding a construction contract to Brockway Mechanical and Roofing out of Burlington for $107,470 to replace the roof over City Hall.

In other action,

• the council will also be voting on a resolution to hold a public hearing and receive bids on upgrades and repairs to the city's water tower. The city has set March 27, 2018 at 2 p.m. as the bid deadline and a public hearing is set for April 3 at 5:30 p.m. The project will include surface preparation for coatings, tank containment, NACE inspector, coating interior and exterior surfaces, new roof ventilation, fixed ladder fall prevention systems, new ladder, new manway, new overflow structure, disinfection of tanks, new french drains; together with related subsidiary and incidental work.

• the council will be voting to approve a waiver of subdivision requirements for a plat of land owned by Thomas and Ingrid Waters at 3333 200th Street.