Page 17 - Ord 866 Adopting a revised Fiscal Year 17-18 and new proposed Fiscal Year 18-19 budget

Section 1 Executive
Transmittal Letter

I. Recent Trends & an Overview of our Community

As mentioned previously, our community continues to experience growth as evidenced by
increased interest from prospective stakeholders looking to call Westlake ‘ home’. This places us in a
pivotal position to help shape the future of the Town in keeping with our Comprehensive and
Strategic Plans and directives from the Council. We have been fortunate to recently partner with
Charles Schwab to locate a regional facility within our community and have approved a new
residential development, “ The Knolls” along Solana Boulevard. These improvements, paired with our
new Fire – EMS station continue to place us on a path of development, which has been carefully
managed to support the Council’ s Vision for our municipality.

The adherence to our community values, Vision statement, Comprehensive Plan, stakeholder
feedback, and distinctive design standards have helped create a community that is reflective of
our newly presented municipal tagline – “ Distinctive by Design”. Our budget theme for this fiscal
year further supports those efforts through recommended reinvestment in our service delivery
methods, community, vision, infrastructure, and our staff teams.

II. Our Value Proposition

Westlake’ s value proposition is found in the excellent municipal and academic services that are
provided to our residents – all at an exceptional price! We have historically maintained the lowest
ad valorem tax rate in the Metroplex and should the Council adopt the proposed rate, we will
remain in the bottom 5% of rates across the state of Texas.

Our community has high expectations for service delivery – both in accessibility, responsiveness,
financial stewardship, amenities, distinctive developments, open spaces and education. Those
points are born out in the results we receive in our DirectionFinders citizen surveys, through our
Parent surveys, and in the academic achievements of our students. In order to maintain the high-
quality services our stakeholders expect, this budget recommends an Investment in our Community
and an Investment in our Vision through:

Our people and our daily service delivery
Our infrastructure
Our exemplary school

III. Challenges and Fiscal Indicators

Challenges remain for us as we look out over the next several years to maintain the value
proposition found within Westlake. The areas of focus for our organization during the coming year
will include: continued oversight of proposed and in-progress development projects, mobility, fiscal
stewardship, enhanced communications with our residents, the continued safety and security of
our community, and overall regional growth. This approach will assist us in providing a firm
foundation for service delivery and protect the vision the Council established for Westlake.

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