(Atlantic, IA) – The first December meeting of the Atlantic City Council takes place this (Wed. 12/3) evening, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. The meeting begins at 4:30-p.m., which is an hour earlier than normal, so Council members may attend a public meeting this evening, that will be hosted by Cass Health, focused on cancer data specific to Cass County.

During this session, the Council will act on passing a resolution approving the Calendar Year 2026 Budget for Atlantic Municipal Utilities. The City traditionally passes the AMU Budget without issue. City Administrator John Lund says the act is a “gesture of respect for [The AMU] Board’s purpose and oversight.” The Council will also act to re-appoint Atlantic Parks and Recreation Commission members Dolly Bergmann and Kevin Ferguson, who were initially appointed to two-year-terms on the Parks and Rec Advisory Commission, when the Council passed a resolution during their meeting in Oct., 2023. Bergmann and Ferguson have expressed an interest in continuing to serve the City in their current capacity.

The Council will hold a Public Hearing on proposals to enter into an Essential Purpose Loan Agreement (ELPA), and a General Purpose Loan Agreement (GPLA), followed by action on resolutions on taking additional action on both proposals, as presented.  John Lund says the ELPA requires two public hearings on the 2026 Bond, which allows the City to refinance essential corporate purpose notes. The ELPA covers $4.22-million worth of existing bond issues. Terms are being extended on the debts, which Lund says “will help with the restructuring and alignment of [the City’s] annual expenditures under [the] Debt Service Fund. It also allows the financing of essential government services and their capital needs, totaling $9.765-million.

Lund says the GLPA pertains to part of the 2026 Bond that covers uses that are not considered essential under the Code of Iowa. They are general corporate purposes uses, and total $405,000. Included are: City Hall Improvements ($100,000); Library Equipment ($155,000), and Library Improvements ($150,000). Refinancing the Deposit, Essential Corporate Purpose uses, General Corporate Purpose uses, Issuance Costs, and when the additional proceeds are added, they total slightly more than $14.7-million. Lund says when $1.22-million of free money (Bond premium) is applied to buy-down the debt issued, the total is $13.48-million.

City Administrator Lund says “property tax reform looms before us. Without diving into politics,” he says, “Our goal is to take care of our responsibilities as a local government and live within our future means. This requires getting our long-term capital planning needs and debt service outlays aligned [and] addressed before the start of the [legislative] session. [The] bond’s refinancing and payment structure is part of that strategy.”

The Atlantic City Council is also expected to review and act on approving pay applications for Omni Construction, Bluffs Paving & Utility, and TK Concrete, all with regard to the City’s Street Improvement Projects. The combined pay applications amount to a little more than $1.132-million.