Page 162 - Haltom City FY 22 Budget

CITY OF HALTOM CITY ANNUAL BUDGET, FY2022 Supplemental Information

BUDGET PROCESS AND LONG-TERM PLANNING

Overview

The Charter of Haltom City specifies that an Operating Budget be adopted prior to the first day of
the fiscal year beginning October 1st. The City’s budget preparation process is a seven-month
cycle, which begins in mid-February and ends in mid-September. The City Council, management,
departments, and the public have opportunities to participate in the preparation of the budget
at various stages in the process. Throughout the process, the City Manager presents reports
delineating particular areas of concern to the Council. The Council provides the direction and
guidance necessary to implement the goals and objectives of the City.

Preparation of the Operating Budget

In Early Spring, the Finance Department distributes a budget preparation manual for the upcoming
fiscal year. Departments submit budget proposals. During the months of May, June, and July,
the City Manager develops the recommended budget based on the policy direction received
from Council. The City’s Charter requires that the proposed budget be submitted to the Council
at least forty-five (45) days prior to the beginning of the fiscal year. This submission normally
occurs during mid-July followed by a series of public budget work sessions between July and
August. The first and second readings of the budget ordinance occur at the council meetings in
August and September. If the city council fails to adopt a budget in final form before the first day
of the fiscal year, the city charter requires that the budget proposed by the City Manager shall be
deemed to have been adopted.

In preparation of the proposed budget, each department develops measures, objectives and
details accomplishments for use in the budget. By identifying the goals of the department and
compiling past and current workload statistics, the department is able to determine early in the
budget process which areas will require future resource adjustments. Departments prepare base
budget requests to continue the current level of service. Any new projects that the department
wants considered for funding are submitted as prioritized budgetary items. The department
must also submit a prioritized list of budget reduction options. The consequences of not funding
these items must also be provided. A departmental budget request is comprised of a line-item
expenditure request that is supplemented with detailed justification. All requests for funding must
be related to specific project needs and must be measurable in terms of effectiveness and/or
efficiency indicators.