City of Waterloo Iowa

The City of Waterloo City Council will conduct a public hearing on the proposed FY26 Fiscal Year City property tax levy on April 7, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. This action sets a cap or maximum tax rate for the fiscal year. The total City tax rate Budget Year Proposed Maximum Property Tax for FY2026 is 22.68690. At the hearing on April 7th, any resident or taxpayer may present objections to or arguments in favor of the proposed tax levy. The only options available to the City Council at this meeting is to approve the amount of maximum property tax dollars as is or decrease it. The maximum property tax dollars resolution is developed and adopted during the budgeting process to provide targets or parameters within the budget recommendations. Please visit our website at https://lnkd.in/gRws4dYm for more details and to try out our Budget Simulator!

State & local governments have more power than they realize to transform the housing ecosystems. The National Housing Crisis Task Force, which Mayor Quentin Hart sits on the Mayor's Implementation Committee, released the first 6 tools in the State & Local Housing Action Plan, featuring innovations communities are using to create more housing. Read more about these tools online at, https://lnkd.in/eMPYVM8A

Waterloo’s three municipal golf courses—South Hills, Gates Park and Irv Warren Memorial—will open Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at 12:00pm, weather permitting.?Courses will remain open for the 2025 golf season if weather and course conditions allow. Season passes are currently available at all three golf courses and at the Leisure Services offices at 1101 Campbell Ave., Waterloo.?Complete information regarding Waterloo’s three Municipal Golf Courses is available at:?https://lnkd.in/dkSRg-MW?or by phone at 291-4370.

Barbershops are still alive and well, especially in Waterloo. Jordan “Jay” Finger is only 31, but the accomplished barber and entrepreneur has already opened three shops in the Cedar Valley, beginning in 2018. Today, after selling and expanding, his Valley Barber Company is thriving at 3556 Kimball Avenue. “I’ve always been picky with my haircuts,” he explains. After trying business college and realizing it wasn’t for him, “I signed up for barber school a month later. I never looked back.” Jay cuts hair along with his team of stylists that rent chairs. They specialize in men’s and boys’ haircuts, facial hair and beards, and even do nose waxes. “I like being a staple in the community. Still standing after Covid. That’s a real pride right there.” Hours are Tuesday-Friday from 10am-7pm, Saturdays 10am-3pm. The shop offers online booking though the Booksy app or call 319-529-7836. He loves seeing his young clients grow up, “cutting their hair since they were little.” Advice for aspiring business owners? “You have to learn on your own. If there’s something you want to chase, then chase it.” #CommunityofOpportunity

The Waterloo Center for the Arts (WCA) houses the largest public collection of Haitian art in the United States with over 2,000 pieces. Now some of these works of art are part of an outdoor exhibition on display through mid-April at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex in the heart of Miami, Florida’s Litle Haiti neighborhood. ? “The Waterloo Center for the Arts Haitian Art collection started in 1977 by a generous donation from Waterloo residents Dr. and Mrs. F. Harold Reuling,” says Chawne Paige, WCA’s Executive Director. “This collection has since grown to over 2,000 works and is the largest public collection of Haitian art in the United States, if not the world, outside of Haiti itself.” ? 16 digitized artworks pulled from the WCA collection are part of the Miami exhibit. The high-resolution images were enlarged and printed for the exhibit so there was no risk of damaging the original pieces. ? Titled “Global Borderless Caribbean XVI: Haiti in the Heartland,” the public art exhibition is a collaboration of the WCA, Little Haiti Cultural Complex, Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance, and the “Haitian Arts: A Digital Crossroads” project. ? The title was chosen by Dr. Petrouchka Mo?se, who played a large part in digitizing the art. Mo?se is an assistant professor at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and co-lead of the project with Dr. Fredo Rivera, assistant professor of Art History at Grinnell College. ? Paige says WCA embraces the spirit of sharing the collection beyond our community. ? “Any institution that has holdings of cultural objects that are not reflective of its constituent communities has a responsibility to share these cultural items with the public,” he says. “For the WCA, it is an opportunity to broaden the world view of Midwesterners, while also instilling an appreciation of diversity and the global community.” ? The selection process for the exhibition was a collaborative effort between the different organizers. It involved reviewing thousands of pieces from the WCA’s collection and selecting those that best represented Haitian heritage. ? Pictured is “Peacock in Tree” by Rigaud Benoit (Courtesy of the Waterloo Center for the Arts).

Congratulations to Jeremy Kruth who was appointed to his first three-year term on the Waterloo Leisure Services board at Monday night’s city council meeting. For 28 years, his company LJs Welding Fabrication has been doing local projects including work with the city “as far as maintenance and upkeep of different things, so I thought it would be a good fit.” A 1992 graduate of Columbus High School, he joined the service but came back to start his welding business. His three children (ages 2, 9, and 11) like to use the parks so he says, “I’m in” on serving the community. #CommunityofOpportunity

The Exchange Club of Waterloo is pleased to announce the Police and Firefighter of the Year Awards Banquet on Thursday, March 13th, at the Waterloo Elks Club, at 407 East Park Avenue. ? This event is open to the public. The evening will begin with a social hour at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner, a program, and the awards presentations. ? This year's award recipients are Officer Gustavo Gasca-Muniz, Reserve Officer Julie Ball from the Waterloo Police Department, and EMS Training Officer David Meiser from Waterloo Fire Rescue. They were selected for their exceptional service and dedication to our community. ? The deadline for reservations and payment is March 9th. Tickets can be purchased online at givebutter.com/vqirxi.?For alternative payment arrangements, please contact Jillian at (319) 329-5205.

Congratulations to Ellen Vanderloo! At last night’s city council meeting, she was appointed to serve another three-year term on the Waterloo Leisure Services board. Currently the board’s vice chair, she says “we are really making a difference in Waterloo with our parks’ renovations, all our parks, and we’re going to have a new swimming pool coming up this summer. It’s really an impactful board to be a part of.” Why serve on the board? “Because we all need to take responsibility for making Waterloo a better place to live. I always have been an advocate for children, and I think especially our parks are so important for our young people.” The Ackley native has lived in Waterloo the past 23 years. She was a longtime volunteer coordinator for Waterloo Schools and has volunteered for years with programs like CASA. Her husband Lance with Vanderloo Chiropractic has been a decades-long chiropractor here. Her message to Waterloo residents when it comes to Leisure Services? “Our facilities are going to be outstanding!” #CommunityofOpportunity

Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iowa Legislative Black Caucus this past week at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. The ceremony was part of an African American History Month celebration called Celebrating the Black Experience Overcoming the Struggle. Hart was recognized for “exceptional dedication, outstanding contributions, and lifelong commitment to excellence in your community and the State of Iowa. Your unwavering passion, inspiring leadership, and significant impact have set a remarkable example for all who follow in your footsteps.” “Such a tremendous honor to be given the lifetime achievement award by the African American Legislative Caucus,” says Hart. “I am proud of the work so many have joined me in tackling to serve the residents of Waterloo, and to put our community on the map nationally for innovative projects and progress.” Now in his fifth term, Hart is the first African American mayor of the City of Waterloo. The Iowa Legislative Black Caucus was created in 2018 and chaired by Representative Ruth Ann Gaines from Des Moines.

Congratulations to Brian Bowman on his retirement after decades in Waterloo’s Waste Management! A reception was held for him this afternoon where many coworkers, including his wife Wendy Bowman who used to work for the city in communications, were there to celebrate him.?? #CommunityofOpportunity