The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutFY 26 Budget in Brief2026 Budget in Brief October 2025 through September 2026 BUDGET PROCESS Mayor’s Recommended Budget April through May The Mayor recommends funding levels for employee wage and benefit cost increases to the City Council to base the new budget on, with help from the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and staff. The Mayor holds budget review meetings for each department. In the department meetings, the Mayor, members of the City Council, the department head, and applicable supervisors discuss and recommend the preliminary budget for each respective department. If necessary, after all departments are reviewed, the Mayor and CFO will meet with department heads individually or collectively in a final review of the General Fund in order to prepare a recommended list of cuts in expenditures so that the total expenditures equal the esti- mated revenue to be available in that fund. City Council Budget Review and Development June through August The City Council reviews and discusses the Mayor’s recommended budget and recommends changes. The City Council then approves the tentative budget and estimated revenues, including recommended utility fee increases, and sets a date and time for the public hearing on the budget and fee increases (if necessary), which are then advertised in the local newspaper. The budget and fee increases are then presented at the hearings and further decreases (not increases) in the budget amounts can be made at that time or until the budget is approved. The fee increases are usually approved at the hearing, but usual- ly are not effective until the beginning of the new fiscal year, which starts October 1. City Council Budget Adoption September The final budget is approved by the City Council upon the third reading and adoption of the Appropriation Ordinance, which must be completed by the first week in September. Budget Highlights Total Budget: $111,279,400 up $16,870,900 from the prior years amended budget. Operating Budget: $46,948,500. The Gen- eral Fund has a $80,900 Contingency for unforeseen items. Street Revenues (including Carry-over): $14.1 million. Increase (1%) in highway user funds (fuel taxes) over the prior year. Major reconstruction street projects include the following: LID 54 & 55 Reconstruction $3.5 million • 1st West - Main to 1st South • 1st South - 2nd West to Center • 5th West - Yellowstone to 7th South • Birch Avenue • Park Street - Pioneer to Seagull Drive • 4th West-2nd S to 6th S • 7th South-US 20 west to Summerfield • Misc. Seal Coat/Chip Sealing $250,000 Major new street construction projects include the following: • 9th E River Crossing at 7th N-DIF, Fed- eral Grant, URA $5,500,000 • Traffic Signal-7th S/Center-LHTAC Grant $893,600 • Safe Streets for all-Federal Grant $240,000 • 2nd East-Safety Improvements Consult- ing-Federal Grant $200,000 • Contributed Assets $500,000 Water/Wastewater Projects: • New Water Well Building, Booster #10 $1.1 M & water line ext. $850,000 • Drill new well #11 on hill $1 Million • Sewer Headworks and Plant Upgrade $3.3 Million (Federal dollars & reserves) • Replace Gravity Fed Sewer Line & Lift Station NW side of city $5.9 million URA (35%) and City (65%) funded projects near 2nd East and Moody Road: • Extended Water/Sewer Services 2nd E- Sewer Lines to WWTP and Sewer Lift Station $4.7 million Property tax revenues $7,290,000. An increase of 6 Full-Time positions in Building Maintenance (1), Police (1), Building Inspections (1), Fire (1), and Golf (2). Utility Rates to increase in sanitation in Octo- ber 2025. Safety Lighting Fee to be discontin- ued as well. Average home to decrease .5% overall or approximately $.62 less per month. Sanitation to purchase a new garbage truck ($335,000). Substantial work on phase I of the New Park on the Teton River ($1.6 million). Airport land acquisition ($4.3 million) Tabernacle- New HVAC ($875,000) THE CITY’S FUNDS EXPENDITURES & REVENUES - CITYWIDE The accounts of the City are organized into funds. A fund is a group of related accounts used to control money that has been designated by the City Council or by State law for specific activities or objectives. About 83 percent of the City’s revenue is dedicated for a specific use. A dedicated fund means, for example, that the City may not raise water bills to pay for Recreation Programs. This also means that, of the City’s $111.28 million budget, most of the flexibility in spending occurs only with the City’s $19.3 million General Fund budget. EXPENSES Public Works The Public Works Departments account for 46% (51.3 million, most of which is for capital projects) of the total budget. This budget funds 53 full-time positions. The main tasks of Public Works include: offering safe transporta- tion by maintaining streets and pathways; offering high-quality drinking water by managing the water and sewer systems in the city; collecting and dispos- ing of garbage and recycling, and overseeing various city construction pro- jects. Public Works includes the Sanitation, Water, Wastewater Treatment and Collections, Building Maintenance, Streets, Shop, Airport, and Engineering Departments. Administrative Departments The Administrative Departments account for 7% ($7.2 million) of the total budget. This budget funds 28 full-time positions. The administrative depart- ments include: Mayor & Council (the Council is part-time), Customer Ser- vice, Financial Management, Human Resources, Information Technology, Economic Development, Legal, Geographic Information Systems, and Plan- ning and Zoning. Fiber is also included under this category ($244,600). General fund contingency and other miscellaneous budgeted amounts are also included in this total budget. Building Safety Department The Building Safety Department accounts for about 1% ($1.4 million) of the total budget. This budget funds 7 full-time positions. This department ser- vices building permits and inspections. Parks, Recreation, Golf, and Cultural Arts These Departments account for 9% ($10.1 million) of the total budget. This budget funds 14 full-time positions and includes some budget for construc- tion and remodel of facilities in addition to the budgets that provide for the maintenance and operations of the facilities and programs within these de- REVENUES The City relies on many different revenue sources as shown below in the Revenue Graph. We often times will have to save up for capital projects and include that in the budget as a fund balance carryover. This budget includes over $14 million in fund balance carryover in all funds, which included $1.3 million to balance the City General Fund. Property tax revenues are certified at $7.29 million for the City General Fund. The current City property tax levy rate is still one of the lowest for most cities in SE Idaho and other similar size cities. A portion of the increase is coming from new construction ($87,601). Sales tax increased over the prior year’s forecast ($40,100), which re- flects a state forecasted minimal growth in spending and the economy in Fiscal Year 2026 over the prior year. FUND TRANSFERS & SUBSIDIES Transfers occur in the budget with an expense or revenue that moves resources from one fund to another. For example, the Wastewater Capital Reserve Fund will transfer money to a construction fund to do a sewer project. Budget Fund Transfers are not a cash increase or de- crease overall. Fund Transfers totaled about 21% ($23.8 million) of the overall budget. Most general fund transfers are also subsidies for ser- vices provided. Police, Fire, and Ambulance The Police, Fire, and Ambulance Departments account for 16% ($17.5 million) of the total budget. This budget funds 48 full-time Police offic- ers and staff, and 31 Fire and Ambulance personnel. Madison County Ambulance District and Madison County Fire Protection District share in the funding of the Fire and Ambulance services with the City of Rexburg and provide services county wide through a joint venture agreement. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN The fund where the City has the most discretion in spending is the General Fund. The major sources of funding include property tax, state shared sales tax, and administrative overhead charges to other funds. The General Fund Budget is $19.3 million, which is about 17% of the citywide budg- et. Below is a more detailed look at the General Fund. All revenues are generally very limited, therefore increasing funding on one project or depart- ment will usually require reducing funding for others. Every year, the City reviews a Capital Improvement Plan for the next five years. Capital Improvements include any one-time expenditure over $5,000 in the form of equipment or construction. Major utility construction projects include $3.3 million for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Construction Fund. Also included is $5.9 million for re- placement of a gravity fed sewer line and lift station and the addition of a pressure line to provide improved collections and expand capacity for the Northwest side of the city. The revenues for the sewer line project include a federal grant (over $3 million), claw back fees to be paid by future devel- opment, and contributions (over $2.8 Million) from other cities that use that infrastructure as well. The City will also partner with the Rexburg Urban Renewal Agency (RURA) to extend water and sewer services from 2nd East to the West of the road and back to the Treatment Plant with over $4.7 million of infrastructure funded at 35% by RURA and 65% by City Reserves. Several other lift station projects are also in the budget. The Airport Environmental Assessment is set to be completed and land acquisition for $4.3 million is in the budget. These projects are funded approx- imately 90% by the FAA, up to 5% by the State of Idaho, and the rest by the City and the County. The City is setting aside reserve funds to meet their portion of any match needed to relocate the airport. The City projects to have $1.17 million of reserve set aside by the end of Fiscal Year 2026. The budget for capital improvements at the Tabernacle includes a new HVAC system ($875,000), and the city received a federal grant of $245,000 for this project. The city will continue to apply for grants and seek to raise contributions to move onto the first phase of a remodel inside the building. Water plans to complete a new building extension ($1.16 million), construct well #10 building and booster ($1.19 million), construct a new well ($1 million) along with deepening of another well ($1.1 million). Sanitation plans to purchase an additional garbage truck ($335,000). The City plans to set aside an additional $300,000 this year in savings for a future municipal building or police station. An election will be held on November 4th, 2025 for a new police station facility bond. Included in the budget is the purchase of some property in the downtown area with other community partners for community gatherings and events and a future municipal building. Phase I of the new park on the Teton River should begin construction this budget year ($1.6 Million). Included in the budget is to acquire additional property to extend the Steiner Park and begin construction with contributions from the Rexburg Urban Renewal Agency. Several Major street projects will occur as noted in the budget highlights on page one of this document, with the largest of those projects being the bridge to add an additional crossing at 7th north ($5.5 Million), with this project being funded by impact fees, federal grants, and Rexburg Urban Re- newal Agency contributions. The city paid off their Sewer Revenue Bond in 2025. The City has no more outside warrants for Local Improvement Districts (LID), but has financed LID’s internally over the last few years. LID’s are a lien on individual properties for needed improvements that have been made on or next to those properties. The City usually creates an LID each year to support needed private improvements, such as sidewalks and curb and gutter, along a street that needs other public improvements. The City finalized a 30 year DEQ loan at 1.75% interest in 2022 for water improvements. The current balance owed is $6.75 million. The City anticipates the potential need for both a water and sewer revenue bond in the next 5 years if the current five-year capital improvement plan is adopted. GENERAL FUND DEBT SERVICE AND BONDS PROPERTY TAX BREAKDOWN & COMPARISONS Your property tax dollars paid to the City of Rexburg are generally dedicated to Police and Fire services. The total estimated property tax for the city general fund is $7.29 million. The City portion of a resident’s total tax bill is approximately 30.8%. According to the Association of Taxpayers in 2024, the average of the total in Idaho was as follows: Cities (30.2%), Counties-including ambulance district, roads, and mosquito districts (39.7%), Schools (20%), Library (1.7%), and Others (8.4%). It is important to note that the City of Rexburg has a very high percent of tax exempt properties as well. Here are some comparisons of the 2024 levies (received in FY 2025) with other entities below. The City charges fees for water, sewer, and gar- bage/recycling. Effective 10/1/2025, utility rates for an average resident home will decrease about .5% or $.62 per month. The City is in the middle of a rate study and anticipates rate increas- es for water and sewer effective 1/1 /2026. If you have any questions about any of the material presented in this brochure, please call the Mayor or Chief Financial Officer at 208-359-3020 or email us at finance@rexburg.org or visit us at 35 North 1st East, Rexburg, Idaho 83440. For more information you can also visit us online at www.rexburg.org