The budget for next fiscal year continues again at Lisbon, with parks and recreation, general fund, TIF and LOSST funds discussed.
Parks and recreation
Parks and recreation director Drayton Kamberling said he expects $9,000 in new revenues this year, as the sponsorship of the different fields at Lisbon’s sports complex moves forward this year.
“We’ll have a list of the sponsors for every field located at the pavilion,” Kamberling said.
Other funds saw minor upticks, with the parks budget slated to have roughly $7,000 in new expenditures for the year. A good portion of the new expenses is salaries.
Recreation will also see an increase of roughly $10,000 for the year. Kamberling said those expenses are because the community is providing more recreation activities, which in turn draws increased revenues. Primarily, offering programs to younger members.
Halloweentown’s budget and the budget for basketball were both increased for the year by $500, Halloweentown due to the number of people who attend and new equipment needed, basketball due to increasing numbers.
General fund
The main increase for the general fund is increasing the amount for street lights for the city. The Iowa League of Cities is also asking for council members to attend more training opportunities, and the city is saving money for that in the budget. The building fund will reflect the repairs to the exterior of Lisbon City Hall, primarily fixing the windows that happened this past fiscal year. That project was covered by insurance.
TIF
The main expenses in TIF include the Budget Blinds tax refund and downtown rehabilitation grants.
LOSST
Paying for the new pumper truck for Lisbon’s fire department is the most significant increase for LOSST. Roughly $250,000 from this year’s fund will go towards the new pumper truck, paired with money from the fire department’s capital improvement plan and general budget. The chassis for the new truck is expected to arrive in February, with the final engine arriving in winter 2025.
Public hearing slated for water sewer rates Feb 24
A public hearing is slated to be held for increases to water and sewer rates for Monday, Feb. 24.
City administrator Brandon Siggins was asking for the ordinances to be changed for water and sewer rates to schedule an increase of roughly three percent annually. If the expenditures do not increase by 25 percent for either fund, the rates would not increase that year.
A three percent rate increase for water and sewer rates is roughly $1.77 per month or $23.70 per year. The increase of three percent generates roughly $12,000 annually.
Council member John Bardsley agreed, noting the city let those rates slide a few years in a row and eventually paid for that.
Sports complex bids are out — Next discussion March 10
Bids are out for the grading for phase two of the sports complex. The council will award those bids at the March 10 meeting. Grading is expected to be completed by July 15 at the field.
Bids for the baseball diamonds are due by Feb. 19, and will be discussed at the March 10 meeting as well. Those projects are expected to begin construction July 26 and be completed by Nov. 30, 2026. Final seeding will take place in the spring of 2027, with the whole project slated to be completed June 2027.