Fiscal Year 2025 Budget

Thank you for your interest in the City's budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2024, and ends on June 30, 2025. The City’s operating budget (day-to-day costs of providing city services) is approximately $172 million and the capital budget, which includes major projects and improvements, is approximately $86 million.

April 16, 2024 Update

The city council unanimously approved the recommended Fiscal Year 2025 budget during their meeting on Monday, April 15. Updated budget documents will be added to this page when they are available.

Public Comments Form

We want your input!

Use the City's Budget Public Comments form to share your ideas directly with City staff. These ideas could be capital improvements, such as park improvements, street improvements, or new amenities. They could also be service-related, such as specific programming, recreation classes, or a change in how a service is provided. Submitted input will assist in the development of a recommended budget.

Written comments can also be mailed to: City Manager, City Hall, 50 West 13th Street, Dubuque, IA, 52001.

BUDGET MEETINGS & RELATED DOCUMENTS

The public is invited to attend the public hearings and meetings related to the FY2025. Please see the detailed information below. All budget meetings will be held in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of the Historic Federal Building at 350 W. Sixth St. beginning at 6:30 p.m. Meetings will air live on CityChannel Dubuque (Mediacom cable channels 8 and 117.2 and ImOn channel 5), streamed and archived on the City's website at www.cityofdubuque.org/media, and streamed on the City's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cityofdubuque. The public can provide input in person or virtually. Instructions can be found within the meeting agenda.

The public can provide input in person or virtually through the GoToMeeting platform. Instructions can be found within the meeting agenda at www.cityofdubuque.org/agendas. Public input on the FY2025 budget may also be submitted online through the budget public comments form on this page. Residents may also contact City Council members at www.cityofdubuque.org/councilcontacts.  

Printed copies of the recommended budget materials will be made available for checkout from the Carnegie-Stout Public Library Reference Desk on March 26. For more information, contact Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Larson at 563-589-4398 or jlarson@cityofdubuque.org. 

Public Input Meetings

Monday, March 25

5:15 p.m., Special Session: Recommended Budget Presentation | Watch

6:30 p.m., Public Hearing to Establish Maximum FY2025 Property Tax Levy | Watch

Tuesday, March 26 | Recommended Policy Budget Vol. 1

Wednesday, March 27 | Recommended Policy Budget Vol. 2

Thursday, March 28 | Recommended Policy Budget Vol. 3

Tuesday, April 2 | Recommended Policy Budget Vol. 4

Thursday, April 4 | Recommended Policy Budget Vol. 5

Monday, April 8 | Recommended Policy Budget Vol. 6

Tuesday, April 9 | Recommended Policy Budget Vol. 7

Monday, April 15

FY25 Recommended Resident Budget Guide CoverRecommended Resident’s Budget Guide

The Resident's Budget Guide provides a synopsis of the City’s recommended budget and guidelines. It includes an overview of the adopted budget, revenue and expenditure summaries, debt summaries, and a summary of the capital budget.




FY25 Recommended CIP CoverAdopted Capital Improvement Program (CIP)

As the plan for the City’s physical development effort, the CIP attempts to address a variety of needs that the City must meet if it is to maintain its physical facilities, meet its service commitments, and provide for its future development. The CIP reflects the City’s comprehensive plan and the goals and priorities established by the City Council.

Prior Public Hearings & Public Meetings

At the 6:30 p.m. public hearing on Monday, March 25, the only options available to city council were to approve the amount of proposed property tax dollars established at the March 7 meeting, or decrease it. The March 25 public hearing allowed any resident or taxpayer to present objections to or arguments in favor of the proposed tax amount. As always, residents and stakeholders can provide input to city council members at any time by contacting them directly. Contact information and a link to email all council members are available at www.cityofdubuque.org/councilcontacts 

A special city council meeting preceded the public hearing at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, March 25, and featured the FY2025 recommended budget document presentation to the city council. 

Following the March 25 special session and public hearing, the budget process continues with public meetings to review City department/division budget proposals before concluding with a final public hearing on Thursday, April 11, to adopt the FY2025 Operating and Capital Budgets.

The City of Dubuque's budget process began with a special meeting on Thursday, March 7, to schedule a separate special meeting for Monday, March 25, which will include a public hearing on the FY2025 proposed property tax amount. You can view the March 7 meeting here. Here are the documents related to the March 7 meeting:

FY2025 - Notice of Public Hearing - City of Dubuque - Proposed Property Tax Levy

Public Input Meeting

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, at 6 p.m.

A public input meeting was held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in the City Council Chambers at the Historic Federal Building, 350 W. Sixth St. City Manager Mike Van Milligen and Finance and Budget Department staff provided general information on the Fiscal Year 2025 budget process and then meeting attendees were asked to share their thoughts on what they would like to see funded in their neighborhoods and the community-at-large.

Dollars & Cents 

The Fiscal Year 2025 Dollars & Cents document provides an overview of property taxes, budget, utility rates, and the debt reduction plan.