Page 96 - Hurst FY19 Approved Budget

earnings in 2009-2010. A reduction in the Mall rebate sharing percentage from 80%
to 75% in 2010-2011 will generate an estimated $300,000 and $100,000 of one-time
revenue for the General and Half-Cent Sales Tax Funds in subsequent years respectively.

Utility Rates
The City will adopt annual utility rates that will generate revenues adequate to cover
operating expenses and meet the legal requirements of bond covenants. Depreciation
is also budgeted to plan for adequate capital replacement in water distribution and
sewage collection systems. The water and sewer rates for 2018-2019 budget year
will increase by 1.50%. This increase is due to cover increases in wholesale water and
wastewater costs. Additional financial policies in the Enterprise Fund section of this
document.

Investment Policies
The City’s investment policy is more restrictive than the State’s Public Funds Investment
Act. The stated goals of the investment policy, in order of importance, are safety of
principal, liquidity, yield, and public trust. Investments made by the City will be in
conformance to policies contained in the City of Hurst Investment Policy, adopted
August 14, 2018. Interest earnings are distributed to accounting funds according
to ownership of the invested dollars. This revenue is budgeted for each fund in the
annual budget. Each month, the Finance and Investment Committee meets to review
investment activity and monitor the investment policies and procedures of the City.

Other Revenue Policies
The City continually strives to obtain additional major revenue sources as a means to
balance the budget. In January 1993, voters adopted an additional 1/2 percent sales
tax for Community Services purposes. In September of 1995, voters overwhelmingly
approved an additional 1/2 percent sales tax for crime control and prevention purposes
and voted to extend the tax for an additional twenty years in May 2010. In fiscal year
2008-2009, Council approved a new Storm Water Management fee that will provide for
drainage improvements throughout the City while providing expenditure relief to the
General and Debt Service Funds. User fees and charges are reviewed annually to ensure
they are comparable to the cost of providing services.

Debt Management Policies
The City’s debt management policy is conservative. It is summarized below. This policy
can also be found in the Other Funds Section of this document.

1. The City will diligently monitor its compliance with bond covenants.
2. The City will maintain good communications with bond rating agencies
regarding its financial condition. The City’s present ratings are (Moody’s) Aa2 and
(Standard & Poors) AA.

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