Page 8 - City of Bedford FY20 Approved Budget

October 1, 2019

Honorable Mayor, Council Members, and Bedford Community Members –

The Annual Operating Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020 is presented in accordance with the
Bedford City Charter and the State of Texas Local Government Code. The adopted budget presents
the annual financial plan and allocation of public resources for the coming year. Development of
this document requires a comparison of anticipated revenues with adopted programs and priorities
that are based on City Council priorities, service demands, or prior project commitments.

The City’s objective is to provide quality services that reflect the community’s goals and vision
within reasonable fiscal limits. The budgeting process seeks to allocate finite resources. There will
always be more needs than available funds to support them.

The City was once again presented with the task of responding to another year of large increases
in property appraisal values. The result of the increase lowers both the effective and rollback tax
rate. Although the budget outlook is relatively stable, it is not robust; the City continues to face a
long-term service level deficit. Unless we can secure a significant new source of revenue, we do
not expect our resources to grow in a manner that will allow the City to expand or enhance its level
of programing or services.

The total Budget for FY 2019-2020, including capital purchases, Street Improvement Economic
Development Corporation maintenance projects, debt service, and transfers between funds, is
$78,578,276. This represents an increase of $5,401,292, or 7.38%, when compared to the FY 2018-
2019 Adopted Budget. The Budget includes a tax rate of $0.569000, which represents an 8.39%
increase over the previous fiscal year.

The FY 2019 – 2020 Budget highlights include:

• Public Safety Positions
The budget includes the addition of 3.0 FTE Fire Fighters, 1.0 FTE Police Officer, and 1.0
FTE Police Sergeant.

• 1.0 FTE Parks and Recreation Director
This position was added to support the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism divisions.

• 1.0 FTE Purchasing Coordinator
This position was added to centralize and better coordinate the purchasing process across
the entire organization.

2000 Forest Ridge Drive – Bedford, Texas 76021 – (817) 952-2100 – www.bedfordtx.gov
We are an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer