City haggles over staff increases

GETTING IT RIGHT

The cost of the city is rising faster than the income coming in with just the people that are here. So, when we look at 3%, 4%, 5%... it was to not have to cut next year.”

Matt Emmett, Fort Madison Councilman at-large

FORT MADISON – The City of Fort Madison will be doubling utility franchise fees in an effort to help offset increasing operational costs, while simultaneously awaiting word in property tax growth caps.
At Monday’s special budget presentation meeting at City Hall, City Manager Laura Liegois took about an hour outlining the city’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year starting July 1, 2026.
Liegois said overall, property taxes will increase revenue to the city by $136,000 with a general fund levy projected at $7.97/$1,000 of assessed valuation. That number actually reflects a decrease of 24 cents compared to this year. However, the debt service levy, which isn’t under new regulation by the state, came in at $4.65 which is an increase of $1.25/$1,000 compared to this year.
So the overall city levy, which is a compilation of the general fund levy, debt service levy, Tort liability levy (37.6 cents - down half a cent), and Employee Benefits levy ($5.64 - down  62 cents) is $18.64/$1,000, a net increase of 39.5 cents.
The letter required to be sent out by all counties, which outlines each taxing district's levy structure for the upcoming fiscal year, is scheduled to be out in the mail the week of March 16. 
Liegois said the city is projecting a fund balance on June 30, 2026 of $1.273 million. With the projected budget, the fund balance will increase to $1.429 million on June 30, 2027, the end of the next fiscal year.
Several major cuts are included in the budget, according to Liegois, including the elimination of one full-time police officer, which hasn’t been filled for more than a year, the elimination of the extra $100,000 in street repair funds that had been being allocated for the past several years. Street maintenance funds are still a part of that budget, but the extra contribution was eliminated.
The Fort Madison Police Department’s union patrol officer will receive a 9% increase in base salary. Liegois said that was to put the officers in the low end of the comparable ranges for nearby police departments. The department had been running four to five officers down for a prolonged period of time and she said this helps level the playing field.
“We have not kept up with our wage structure well in the past  and so this year was a bargaining year. As everyone knows, we needed to have some conversations about this,” she said.
She said union negotiations this year lasted several weeks and will take officers  hourly rate from $31 to $34 an hour, which gets them into the comparable market with other area officers. That does not include non-union staff. The city will also designate an Asst. Police Chief.
Fort Madison firefighters, under the new budget, will receive a 5% pay increase to help bring them in line with neighboring fire departments, based on union negotiations for union staff. Administration has been set for a 3% raise. The city will also issue a $7.2 million general obligation bond after voters approved that referendum in 2024 for the new fire station and public works building. The public works building is underway and the fire station is set for construction to begin this spring.
Debt service for the city is set at $1.7 million for 2026-27 with $608,000 allocated for the new fire station and public works building. The rest of the debt service is for ongoing payments on a $6 million quality of life bond at $438,650; and another general obligation bond for street and bridge work at $652,000 in the next fiscal year.
Councilman Rusty Andrews questioned why the rest of the city staff is at 3% when police and fire are both above that number. Andrew served with councilors Matt Emmett and Angela Roller, along with department heads and Liegois on a budget subcommittee. Those meetings were not held in public.
“I can argue why the police department is where they’re at, but if the fire department is telling me that 5% is the cost-of-living increase, I’ve got to wonder about the rest of them,” Andrews said.
Liegois said late union negotiations and state feedback on cap growth and where the assessment rollback would land, created uncertainty around the budget.
“Those things all play into effect with this. So with that, we did lay out 3%, 4%, and 5% because I had  the budgets started and said just please start at 3% because I didn’t know where we were going to land,” Liegois said.
She told the council if they wanted to make a change in the wages, they needed to do it quickly as the budget timeline was winding down with getting documentation to the county and state.
Andrews cited Keokuk went through a tough budget session and was able to get pay raises, but they had to face some very difficult choices in where to save.
“If we end up in that position two years from now, you always find yourself talking about staff and you don’t want to go there,” he said.
Mayor Melinda Blind asked if the council wanted to have another meeting prior to finalizing the budget. Andrews said he would like to see what the numbers look like with a 5% across the board increase, not including the police.
Emmett said if the council had another meeting it needed to address the fact that costs are exceeding income.
“The cost of the city is rising faster than the income coming in with just the people that are here. So when we look at 3%, 4%, 5%... it was to not have to cut next year,” Emmett said.
He said police and fire were under the market conditions in the area and could not continue to hire and maintain.
“If we have disparity in other places, let’s look at that, too. We might not be able to look at it this year, but this is what was presented to us.”
The council agreed to meet again on Wednesday in another special meeting to review wages before finalizing the budget.