Page 57 - Mansfield 2019 Operating Budget

The Strategic Plan includes revenues and expenditures for a period of ten years. The
objective of the forecast is simply to measure or guide the allowance of costs. Over the
ten year forecast, revenues and expenditures are projected to increase considerably over
the next ten years as the population is expected to increase almost 33% over the next
decade. The City’s economy is influenced some by the national economy, but is more
influenced by its population growth and its economic development programs. In years
past from 1970 till today the City’s population has boomed over 65,000 residents. During
this period time the national economy has moved through many economic cycles
including the Great Recession and the City population has continued to grow because of
its location in the North Texas. Growth over the next decade is expected to be more of a
modest pace of growth in the population and the number of new businesses moving into
the community.

In forecasting revenues and expenses for the City’s General Fund and Water, Sewer Fund
into the future, Management projects revenue trends to average in a range of 5% to 9%
over the next ten years with expenses being controlled or managed to approximately 7%
over the next ten years. The City could experience higher cost of operations because of
the effects of federal monetary policy, rising interest rates, energy prices, commodity
prices, labor markets, costs of raw water, and the costs of treating sewer water. Current
spending patterns suggest that minimum costs could increase 5% year over year, but
these spending patterns are extremely subject to economic variables that could easily
adjust the trajectory of presently projected spending pattern. Detailed projections by
revenue source and spending purposes are provided in following tables.

Key Rates

Tax Rate projections over the next ten years predict the tax rate to remain constant or at
its current rate of $.71 cents per $100 in assessed valuation of property within the City of
Mansfield, Texas. Water and Sewer rates are expected to remain constant over the next
ten years with the exception of modest rate increases year over year. Modest increases
are expected to pay for the significant cost increases being passed along to the City for
the cost of delivering raw water to the City’s water treatment facilities and the cost of
treating the City’s sewer water. The City is closely monitoring these rate increases that
are being charged by Tarrant Regional Water District and Trinity River Authority to the
City for their capital improvement programs. These rates may or may not increase
depending upon the costs being passed along to the City’s customers.

Current Economy, Future Economy

The City has increased service expectations as it has adjusted service programs to meet
the current demand for services. Department heads have submitted and requested funding
that is well beyond the City’s ability to fund the requesting funding. In an effort to
maintain existing services, the City has significantly reduced future spending
expectations because of the uncertainty in the national and global economies. All the
while, the City is seeing continued growth in its residential, commercial, and industrial
sectors of its economy and employment percentages are healthy and expected to remain

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