Page 158 - Haltom City FY19 Annual Budget

CITY OF HALTOM CITY
BUDGET PROCESS AND LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PLANS

Overview

The Charter of Haltom City specifies that an Operating Budget be adopted prior to the first day
of the fiscal year beginning October 1st. The City’s budget preparation process is a seven-
month cycle, which begins in mid February and ends in mid September. The City Council,
management, departments, and the public have opportunities to participate in the preparation of
the budget at various stages in the process. Throughout the process, the City Manager presents
reports delineating particular areas of concern to the Council. The Council provides the direction
and guidance necessary to implement the goals and objectives of the City.

Preparation of the Operating Budget

In March, the Finance Department distributes a budget preparation manual for the upcoming
fiscal year. Departments submit budget proposals by mid May. During the months of May, June,
and July, the City Manager develops the recommended budget based on the policy direction
received from Council. The City’s Charter requires that the proposed budget be submitted to
the Council at least forty-five (45) days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. This submission
normally occurs during mid-July followed by a series of public budget work sessions between
July 25 and August 10. The first and second readings of the budget ordinance occur at the
council meetings in August and September. If the city council fails to adopt a budget in final
form before the first day of the fiscal year, the city charter requires that the budget proposed by
the City Manager shall be deemed to have been adopted.

In preparation of the proposed budget, each department develops measures, objectives and
details accomplishments for use in the budget. By identifying the goals of the department and
compiling past and current workload statistics, the department is able to determine early in the
budget process which areas will require future resource adjustments. Departments prepare
base budget requests to continue the current level of service. Any new projects that the
department wants considered for funding are submitted as prioritized budgetary items. The
department must also submit a prioritized list of budget reduction options. The consequences
of not funding these items must also be provided. A departmental budget request is comprised
of a line-item expenditure request that is supplemented with detailed justification. All requests
for funding must be related to specific project needs and must be measurable in terms of
effectiveness and/or efficiency indicators.

Integration with Other Long Term Planning Processes

Information Technology – The Information Technology Plan was commissioned in late 2006 and
completed in the summer of 2007. The City Council subsequently accepted the plan. This plan
recommends staffing levels and operating guidelines for system maintenance. It also provides
guidance for the development of equipment/software schedules. Both the operational and
equipment maintenance assumptions figure prominently in budget development. The annual
impact of the IT plan is expected to be near $120,000 annually over the next five (5) years.

Drainage Improvement – The Drainage Improvement Plan was approved by the City Council in
2006. It encompasses an assessment of the current drainage challenges posed by run-off from

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