Page 68 - City of Westlake FY20 Budget

Section 2 Financial Analysis
Budget 101 Overview

The Town of Westlake staff is pleased to present the annual operating budget, which is the product of
many hours of preparation as well as a response to ever-changing internal and external influences. The
Town of Westlake’s fiscal year begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. It provides the
framework to implement the Town’s vision, mission and value statements as set out by the Town
Council.

LAYOUT AND ORGANIZATION

The budget is designed to help the reader locate both financial and non-financial information in a timely
fashion.

The Fund Sections are broken down between General Fund, Special Revenue Funds, Debt Service Fund,
Enterprise Funds, Internal Service Funds, Capital Projects Fund, and Westlake Academy Fund. Each Fund
contains the following information:
• “Fund Overview” describing the function of the fund and explaining the variances between the
revenues and expenditures.
• “Program Summary” of revenues and expenditures.

Also included are sections detailing the Capital Improvement Plan, Long-Term Planning, Fiscal and
Budgetary Policy, Investment Policy, Strategic Plan and the Town ordinance related to the adoption of
the budget (after adoption).

BUDGET PREPARATION
As in previous years, efforts have been made to control expenditures while continuing to deliver an
excellent level of service to our citizens. Concentrated efforts have been made to produce a document
that clearly illustrates the uses of Town resources in a format that may be utilized as a resource tool by
the Town Council, Town staff, and the citizens of Westlake. Our budget preparation process continues
to be refined on an annual basis, operating within clearly defined budget preparation guidelines.

Budgeting is an essential element of the financial planning, control and evaluation process of municipal
government. The “operating budget” is the Town’s annual financial operating plan. The budget includes
all the operating departments of the Town, the debt service fund, all capital projects funds, and the
internal service funds of the Town. The proposed budget will be prepared with the cooperation of all
Town departments and is submitted to the Town Manager who makes any necessary changes and
transmits the document to the Town Council. A budget preparation calendar and timetable will be
established and followed in accordance with State law.

A “bottom-up” approach is used to solicit input from the staff Leadership Team as to their operations’
needs with an emphasis on:
• Identifying costs to provide the current level of services.
• Identifies additional cost increases needed to maintain the current level of service.
• Additional resources necessary to provide new or increased levels of service.
• Delineating changes in fund balance levels for each fund.

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