Page 7 - Mansfield 2019 Operating Budget

HOW TO READ THIS DOCUMENT

You are holding the published City of Mansfield Budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2018
and ending September 30, 2019. This document has been prepared to help you, the reader, learn of the
issues affecting the Mansfield community. Many people believe a City Budget is only a financial plan.
Although you can learn much of the City’s financial portfolio, the 2018-2019 Budget Document has been
designed to serve other functions as well. The budget is a policy document as it presents major policies
that guide how the City is managed. The budget is also an operational guide that gives the public, elected
officials and City staff information pertaining to the production and performance of individual
departments. The budget is drafted as a communication device: information is conveyed in a way that
should be easy to understand, even by those unfamiliar with the City of Mansfield.

THE BUDGET FORMAT

The Budget Document is divided into four major sections: Introductory, Budget Summary,
Financial/Operational, and Attachments. The introductory section contains a synopsis of the City in
terms of the community and its demographics. It includes the City Manager’s Budget Message addressed
to City Council, which explains the major issues and policies that affected the development of the 2018-
2019 budget. The introductory section also describes the City’s long term strategic plan, goals, major
revenues, and overall organizational structure.

The Budget Summary section provides details on individual funds including Enterprise Funds and Capital
Improvement Funds. The City of Mansfield uses the fund method of accounting. A fund is a unit that
tracks the application of public resources. For example, the Utility Fund is established to keep track of
revenues and expenses within the Utility Division. In this section, financial statements are provided for
each fund. The financial statement shows the beginning balances, revenues, expenditures, and ending
balances for the year.

Accompanying the financial statements are narratives and illustrations that describe the major aspects of a
particular function within the City. The Financial/Operational section explains not only the City’s
organizational structure, but specific fund and department information as well. There may be one or more
departments that comprise each fund. Most interest is in the General Fund, which includes City
operations: General Government, Business Services, Police, Fire, Planning, Development Services,
Community Services and Public Works. Each department is presented with a mission statement, a brief
synopsis of the key departmental increases or decreases, a listing of the unit’s accomplishments for the
previous fiscal year and operational objectives for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. Performance measures for
each department are also provided. The funding and staffing for each department are summarized for a
number of years.

Finally, various attachments are presented in the back of the document that include adopted budget and
tax rate ordinances, major companies, historical analysis of the tax rate, acronyms and a Glossary of
Terms.

Please contact the City’s Business Services Division for questions related to the 2018-2019 Budget
Document at 817-276-4262.

5