Page 10 - Hurst Budget FY21

HOW TO USE THIS BUDGET DOCUMENT

The City of Hurst Budget Document provides comprehensive information about City policies, goals,
objectives, financial structure, operations and an organizational framework that shows how City
services are maintained and improved for fiscal year 2021. A main objective of the Budget
Document is to communicate this information to readers (Hurst citizens, the public and other
governmental entities) in a manner that is clear, concise and understandable. At the front of the
budget is a Table of Contents that will aid the reader in finding specific information quickly and
also provides a summary of the major topics. At the back of the budget, the "Budget Glossary" will
be helpful to a reader not familiar with governmental terms. After reviewing the glossary, the
reader should have a better understanding of the programs, services and resources available to
the City by reviewing the major sections of the budget in the order they are presented. The Budget
is divided into eight major sections: Introduction, Long Term Strategic Plans, Budget Summary,
General Fund, Enterprise Fund, Other Funds, Capital Improvements and Appendix. Highlights of
the sections are as follows:

INTRODUCTION: The City Manager's Budget Message should be read first. The Message
provides an overview of accomplishments for fiscal year 2020, and policy decisions made
during the budget preparation process that influenced the 2021 budget. The message
summarizes the contents of the budget with goals and objectives of the City clearly outlined.
In addition, the Introduction section contains a City Organizational Chart followed by
information about the City in the "Hurst Profile." The reader can read about the physical
location of the City, the history of Hurst, services offered by the City and significant
demographic information.

LONG TERM STRATEGIC PLANS: This section details the long-term strategic plans
developed by City Council and City Management. The City Council is committed to setting
goals and policies that are in the best interest of the citizens of Hurst. To assist with this
process, the City provides several opportunities for citizens to express the wants and needs
of their community. Each year in December, the city sends out a citizens’ survey for them
to rate the performance of the City and make any comments. Residents are also invited to
attend the Town Hall Forum which is held each year in February; however, the forum was
cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Strategic planning is an essential component of
the annual budget and multi-year financial planning processes and the City of Hurst
continued to follow our existing strategic plan. We continue to maintain a fiscal contingency
plan which was used to guide our response to the pandemic.

BUDGET SUMMARY: This summary section for all funds discusses the budget preparation
process that begins at the first of every year and formally ends in September, with numerous
steps in-between. An explanation of the financial structure of the City is provided that shows
how revenues and expenditures are reported by Fund, a self-balancing set of accounts
designed to track specific revenues, and the uses of those revenues. A summary of all
funds draws the operating funds and capital funds together. The multi-year financial
projections estimate revenues and expenditures over a five-year period. Projections are
made for the General Fund and the Enterprise Fund, which comprise the majority of the
City’s revenues and expenditures. The reader will see that the majority of resources are
expended on personnel costs, which are necessary to provide quality services to Hurst
citizens.

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