The Atlantic City Council will meet in a regularly scheduled session 5:30-p.m. Wednesday, in the Council’s Chambers at City Hall. Among the items on their agenda are Public Hearings on the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020) 10-year Capital Improvement Plan, and FY 2020 Budget, which sets the tax rate at $16.86 per thousand dollars valuation. City Administrator John Lund says key elements of the FY 2020 CIP include:

• The City’s big capital projects that will start in the FY 2024 Budget and last through FY 2030.
• In 2017 dollars, $8.31-million worth of Street Improvements and $1.62-million for two fire trucks are scheduled, for a total of $9.94-million. By 2024 the costs will be $12.43-million, and by 2030 it will reach $15.57-million. Lund says construction inflation has traditionally outpaced everything but healthcare costs.
• Lund says also, no maintenance will be deferred, but nothing will be accelerated, either. All preventative maintenance will occur as scheduled by the engineers. He says “We will not be ripping-up working streets just ‘save future money.”
• The Street Work will be done over six-years, borrowing money in two bonds.

Prior to all of that, Lund says he will recommission the 2017 study in 2023 to get updated cost estimates and street conditions, so there is sufficient time to adjust the financing. And, with the exception of the second phase of the Library, all Capital Improvements are fully funded. As for the FY 2020 City of Atlantic Budget, Lund says “No substantive changes have been made” since the draft budget was submitted to the Council on Feb. 6th. He notes:

• Nearly all departments other than Finance and Administration have a capital equipment and vehicles reserve fund now, which should help department heads further prioritize their expenditures, especially since ongoing deposits into those reserve funds are NOT a given.
• Employee benefit costs will be moved into a separate account, with funds deposited annually.
• A Police Training and Recertification Fund was also established for occasional, necessary expenditures.

And, Lund says unsustainable growth in the City’s labor costs has ended, with all positions at or above the median of 33 cities in Iowa with a population between 5,000 and 10,000 (as outlined in a 2018 survey), will be set at 2.4-percent. Positions below the median are set to be fully equalized by FY 2021. The public has the chance to comment or ask questions about the budget during the meeting, Wednesday, before the Council acts on approving it. The Budget is due into the State by March 15th. In other business, the Atlantic City Council will act on a Resolution setting the salaries for appointed officers and employees for the Fiscal Year that begins July 1st, 2019 and ends June 30, 2020. There will also be a Public Hearing on a proposal to enter into a General Obligation Solid Waste Management Loan Agreement between the City and the Cass County Landfill. The Landfill has instituted a per-capita fee of $12 per resident, to be assessed annually.

And, the Council will act on an order to appoint Megan Roberts to the Community Promotion Commission.