HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY26 MPOJC Budget
FY26 Budget and Financial Forecast
Adopted January 29, 2025 by the:
MPOJC Urbanized Area Policy Board
MPOJC Rural Policy Board
Date: January 29, 2025
To: Urbanized Area Policy Board
Rural Policy Board
From: Kent Ralston, Executive Director
Re: FY26 MPOJC Budget and Financial Forecast
The Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County (MPOJC) is the designated planning organization for Johnson County, Iowa.
Assistance is provided to member agencies in the program areas of transportation planning, administration, and small communities
planning assistance by virtue of a 28E agreement. The MPOJC Urbanized Area and Rural Policy Boards have authority over the policies
and work programs of the organization. The MPOJC website (www.mpojc.org) provides general information about the organization,
published technical reports, agendas, and meeting minutes of all public meetings.
MPOJC is organized administratively under the City of Iowa City and staff members are subject to all rights and benefits afforded to City
of Iowa City employees. Non-administrative staff are organized under the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME). MPOJC staff also serve as staff in the City of Iowa City Neighborhood and Development Services Department. Because
MPOJC is organized as a division of the City of Iowa City, MPOJC follows City of Iowa City administrative and personnel policies. T his
overall structure allows for cost-effective sharing of expenditures and services.
The focus of MPOJC remains to fulfill federal and state requirements necessary for receiving both formula and discretionary state and
federal funding and to produce a wide variety of transportation studies for member agencies. These studies are intended to result in better
information on which to base local policy and project programming decisions.
The proposed FY26 MPOJC Budget and Financial Forecast reflects the program of services, policies, and staffing approved by the Board.
The overall FY26 budget reflects a 2.38% increase from the FY25 budget and is primarily due to adjustments in salaries and benefits.
The remaining budget is largely the same as previous years with respect to technical and professional services, travel and education, and
software. As in previous years, the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is scheduled to contribute a large portion of the overall
MPO budget in FY26 – the anticipated Iowa DOT contribution is $280,000 which is the same as in FY25. MPOJC also carries reserve
funds to buffer against unexpected budget increases, or potential loss of funding. This continues to be important due to ongoing uncertainty
of federal funding.
MPOJC continues to employ 1-2 planning interns funded by the University of Iowa. The University of Iowa’s $23,817 assessment will be
used to fund intern expenses throughout the year. If this amount is not fully expended during the year, the balance becomes available for
other expenses.
As in previous budgets, the FY26 budget is explicit in showing additional assessments specific to Iowa City due to staff time devoted
solely to Iowa City specific duties. These duties include traffic engineering services, administration of the traffic calming program,
participation in planning committees, review of rezoning and subdivision applications, and other special projects.
The budget also reflects capital expenses for the replacement of traffic counters, traffic counting software, and GIS software to maintain
our mapping and visualization abilities. The traffic counters are used for traffic analyses and are subjected to extreme conditions as part
of the data collection program. It is important that there be a regular program of replacement for this equipment. For our traffic forecasting
capabilities, we are proposing to continue to upgrade our travel demand model software to be consistent with the Iowa DOT state-wide
travel demand model.
Following is a summary of the proposed Budget and Financial Forecast and FY26 assessments. Assessment figures use the 2020
decennial Census population data as required by the MPO Bylaws.
MPOJC Budget FY26 – FY28
MPOJC is designated by the Governor of the State of Iowa as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Iowa City Urbanized Area.
The MPOJC Transportation Planning Division must fulfill the state and federal requirements of the 3-C transportation planning process. This
process is required of all urbanized areas to maintain eligibility for grant programs and transportation operations funds of the United States
Department of Transportation and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The Administration Division consists of a half-time Executive Director, and a .2 FTE Administrative Secretary. The Administration Division provides
oversight and support to the staff of MPOJC. The Executive Director supervises all MPOJC personnel, coordinates the budget process and the
preparation of division work programs.
As MPOJC staff also serve the City of Iowa City Neighborhood and Development Services Department, this budget reflects Iowa City specific
funding for 0.5 FTE Administration and 1.0 FTE Transportation Planner for Iowa City duties.
1Forecasts assume a 3% increase
2Student interns are funded entirely by the University of Iowa
FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28
Budgeted Proposed Forecast1 Forecast1
Salaries and Benefits $690,100 $699,200 $720,176 $741,781
Technical and Professional Services &
Maintenance, Travel and Education $68,219 $75,620 $77,889 $80,225
Operating Costs;including office
supplies,traffic counting and mapping
equipment/software
$8,700 $11,050 $11,382 $11,723
Subtotal $767,019 $785,870 $809,446 $833,729
University of Iowa Student Interns 2 $23,817 $23,817 $23,817 $23,817
TOTAL $790,836 $809,687 $833,263 $857,546
Expenditures
Summary of FY26 Assessments
Note: Figures do not include specific funding for Iowa City Neighborhood & Development Services, equivalent to 0.5 Administration Budget ($96,250) and 1.0 FTE Transportation Planning ($148,343).
Iowa City $121,144
Johnson County $35,430
Coralville $36,132
North Liberty $33,155
Tiffin $7,305
University Heights $1,988
SubTotal $235,154
Rural Communities
Solon $943
Lone Tree $424
Swisher $285
Oxford $226
Hills $270
Shueyville $228
SubTotal $2,375
Other Sources
Iowa DOT $280,000
Carryover $23,748
University of Iowa $23,817
SubTotal $327,565
Total $565,094
Urban Communities
MPOJC Assessment Explanation
1. Assessment for Rural entities is 1% of the overall MPO assessment. Rural Board communities utilize MPO planning services but are not eligible for MPO grant funds.
2. 0.5 FTE of Administration Division and 1.0 FTE of Transportation Planning Division are for Iowa City related functions and are not reflected in assessments to other communities.
3. This budget does not include East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) assessments.
4. Assessment figures may not reflect exact population percentages shown due to rounding.
Urban Entity Population Population %Total % of Total % of Total
Urban Board Assessment MPO Budget Assessments
Iowa City 74,828 51.52%$121,144 21.4%51.0%
Johnson County 21,884 15.07%$35,430 6.3%14.9%
Coralville 22,318 15.37%$36,132 6.4%15.2%
North Liberty 20,479 14.10%$33,155 5.9%14.0%
Tiffin 4,512 3.11%$7,305 1.3%3.1%
U-Heights 1,228 0.85%$1,988 0.4%0.8%
Subtotal 145,249 100.0%$235,154 41.6%99.0%
Rural Entity1 Population Population %Total % of Total % of Total
Rural Board Assessment Budget Assessments
Solon 3,018 39.68%$943 0.2%0.4%
Lone Tree 1,357 17.84%$424 0.1%0.2%
Swisher 914 12.02%$285 0.1%0.1%
Oxford 722 9.49%$226 0.0%0.1%
Hills 863 11.35%$270 0.0%0.1%
Shueyville 731 9.61%$228 0.0%0.1%
Subtotal 7,605 100.0%$2,375 0.4%1.0%
Total 152,854 100.0%$237,529 42.0%100.0%
Other Funding Sources
Iowa DOT $280,000 49.5%
Carryover $23,748 4.2%
University of Iowa $23,817 4.2%
MPO Total $565,094 100.00%
50% Admin for Iowa City NDS 2 $96,250
1.0 FTE for Iowa City NDS 2 $148,343
Total Budget $809,687