City of Dubuque’s FY2026 Budget Process Begins 

MARCH 13, 2025

NOTE: This version includes a correction to the dates for the Airport and Housing and Community Development Department presentations. Airport is April 8 and Housing and Community Development is April 3. Our apologies for the error.

The Dubuque City Council will hold a series of public meetings as part of the process to create the City of Dubuque’s budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Residents and stakeholders are encouraged to participate in this process and provide input. 

The budget process will begin on Tuesday, March 25, when the city council holds a public hearing to establish the maximum FY2026 property tax levy. At this public hearing, the only options available to the council are to approve the amount of proposed property tax dollars, or decrease it. The public hearing also allows any resident or taxpayer to present objections to or arguments in favor of the proposed tax amount. Input can be given to 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

On Monday, March 31, City Manager Mike Van Milligen will present his recommended FY2026 budget to the council. More details are available at www.cityofdubuque.org/FY2026budget.  

The process continues with public meetings to review City department/division budget proposals before concluding with a final public hearing on Monday, April 28, to adopt the FY2026 Operating and Capital Budgets. 

Budget Public Meeting Schedule: 

• Monday, March 3, 5:15 p.m. 
  • Special Session to Set the Public Hearing to Establish Maximum FY2026 Property Tax Levy 
• Tuesday, March 25 
  • Public Hearing to Establish Maximum FY2026 Property Tax Levy 
• Monday, March 31  
  • Recommended Budget Presentation 
• Wednesday, April 2 
  • City Manager's Office 
  • City Council 
  • City Attorney's Office 
  • City Clerk’s Office 
  • Communications Office 
  • Human Resources 
• Thursday, April 3 
  • Health Services 
  • Library 
  • Housing and Community Development
  • Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood Support 
  • Office of Equity and Human Rights 
• Tuesday, April 8  
  • Airport  
  • Purchase of Services 
  • Planning Services
  • Economic Development 
  • Finance
• Wednesday, April 9  
  • Parks 
  • Recreation 
  • Grand River Center 
  • ImOn Arena 
  • Five Flags Civic Center 
• Thursday, April 10  
  • Emergency Management 
  • Emergency Communications 
  • Police 
  • Fire 
• Tuesday, April 22  
  • Information Technology 
  • Water 
  • Water and Resource Recovery Center 
  • Public Works 
• Thursday, April 24 
  • Multicultural Family Center
  • Community Impact 
  • Transportation Services 
  • Engineering 
• Monday, April 28 
  • Public Hearing to Adopt the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget 

The public is invited to attend the public hearings and meetings in which staff from each department and division will present FY2026 budget information. All meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. (unless otherwise noted) in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of the Historic Federal Building at 350 W. Sixth St. and will be aired 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 through the GoToMeeting platform. Instructions can be found within the meeting agenda at www.cityofdubuque.org/agendas. Public input on the FY2026 budget may also be submitted online through the budget public comments form at www.cityofdubuque.org/FY2026budget. Residents may also contact City Council members at www.cityofdubuque.org/councilcontacts.  

The recommended budget materials are expected to be available on the City of Dubuque website at www.cityofdubuque.org/FY2026budget and printed copies 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.

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MEDIA CONTACT
Jennifer Larson, Chief Financial Officer
jlarson@cityofdubuque.org, 563.589.4398