The $115,381,690 spending plan is for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2026.

It includes a property tax rate of $20.75 per $1,000 of taxable value. That is down from the current rate of $20.95 per $1,000 of taxable value.

It also includes revenue from a two-phase water rate increase that added about $2.12 to the monthly bill of the average residential customer on Jan. 1. A similar increase will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

To cope with reduced general fund revenues that city officials say were prompted by a new state property tax law, the budget eliminates six positions. Those positions are:

• Assistant fire chief.

• Aquatics and program coordinator in the Recreation Department.

• Administrative assistant at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum.

• One building inspector in the Development Services Department.

• Community and economic development manager in the Development Services Department.

• One supervisor in the Public Areas Department.

The positions are vacant or will be by the time the fiscal year starts July 1.

Hours at the Rosedale Rapids Aquatics Center will be reduced this summer by about five hours a week. Hours at the Fort Dodge Public Library and the Blanden Memorial Art Museum may also be reduced. There may also be a longer response time to complaints about nuisances such as tall weeds and junk.

Mayor Matt Bemrich thanked the city staff for what he called a “fantastic job” preparing the complex budget.

Noting that the property tax levy is going down, Bemrich told the staff members in the council room, “That’s a credit to you.”

While the general fund supported by property taxes is always the most difficult to budget, the various utilities operated by the city account for the biggest chunk of the spending plan. Those utilities include water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer solid waste collection and the Fort Dodge Fiber broadband system.

Collectively, those utilities account for about $34 million of the $115 million budget.