Dubuque City Council finishes annual goal-setting meetings

The Dubuque City Council on Thursday concluded its annual goal-setting meetings unable to narrow down its priorities for the coming year to the usual top 10 and instead choosing to move ahead with 15 priorities. The agenda includes not just routine and budgeted priorities, but a new and potentially expensive wish list of priorities for the fiscal year 2027 budget. The council adopted eight “top” priorities and seven “high” priorities. The top priorities involve commercial air service, fire station location, fire station staffing, police department staffing, sanitary sewer investments, sports complex development, stormwater management, and street maintenance. Included on a second tier of priorities — “high priorities” — are the University Avenue roundabouts, a Downtown Master Plan update and renovations to the Dubuque Law Enforcement Center. Older priorities that were carried over include improvements to Central Avenue, Chaplin Schmitt Island and a new, comprehensive parks master plan.