The Waterloo City Council on May 19 approved a budget for the current fiscal year that began May 1, with unbilled projects already completed and the uncertainty of timing for future projects contributing to an overall deficit. 

“Currently, we do not see the budget deficit as a concern. We’re confident that by year’s end, we’ll be back in the black,” Waterloo Collector/Budget Officer Sarah Craig said. “Many projects were budgeted for this year. Some won’t be completed as planned due to scheduling conflicts.”

Same as last year’s budget, projects completed in prior years have not yet been billed by the state, so the city has to place those pending payments in the expenditures.

“We owe it. We just don’t know when they will bill us for it,” Mayor Stan Darter said last year. 

Still, the City of Waterloo has $35 million in reserves, otherwise known as invested funds, as the fiscal year begins.

In all, budgeted receipts for the 2026 fiscal year are $48,574,735 against expenditures of $51,912,260. 

For the city’s general fund, Waterloo has budgeted $11,276,545 in receipts against expenditures of $14,015,540. Included in the budgeted expenditures is a $1.5 million transfer from the city’s capital improvements fund.

Among the $4,365,000 budgeted for capital projects in the general fund, big ticket items include $1.2 million for Moore Street work that has been completed but not yet billed, $1.2 million for Fourth Street work, and $1 million for the planned Rogers Street extension. 

In other news from the May 19 meeting, the council unanimously approved the purchase of 42 guest chairs, six high-back guest chairs, and three end tables for the council chambers at City Hall from KI at a cost not to exceed $22,000. 

The council also approved 10 task chairs for the City Hall business office and nine meeting room chairs for the front and upstairs conference rooms at City Hall from KI at a cost not to exceed $12,500.

It was discussed during a utility meeting held earlier in the month that these chair and furniture replacements were included in the budget and replace existing items that are up to 30 years old. 

Also at the meeting, the council approved the mayor’s appointment of Monroe County Public Safety Director Kevin Scheibe as Waterloo Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, effective June 1.

The council also approved a beautification grant application from The Coffee Girl at 219 S. Main Street, formerly known as Bean Tree Cafe. 

The next meeting of the Waterloo City Council is 7:30 p.m. June 2 at City Hall.