Page 55 - Watauga FY22-23 Budget

BUDGET OVERVIEW – BUDGET-IN-BRIEF

General Fund Expenditures

The operating
expenditures
(including
transfers) for the
General Fund total
$16,464,895. This
is a $1,557,420, or
a 12.3% increase
over last year’s
budgeted
expenditures,
including transfers.
Personnel
expenditures make
up 72% of the
General Fund’s
budget. As
mentioned previously, the City is striving to restore positions that were unfunded as a
cost saving measure in in FY2019-20 and FY2020-21. A total of 3.75 full-time
equivalent positions were added to the general fund this year, of which 1.25 full-time
equivalents were restored and funded. Additional positions are funded by ARPA grant
funding that will be absorbed in the general fund budget over the next several years.
SAFER grant expenditures increased due to the funding percentage being reduced from
35% to 0% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022-23. In the FY2022-23 budget,
medical insurance costs were increased by 21.1%. This amount is reflected in the
budget but will be partially offset by premium cost sharing with the employees. A 3%
salary increase, and civil service step increases are also included in the adopted
budget. Police and Fire expenditures make up 52% of the General Fund Budget.

The General Fund expenditures include $60,000 of contingency funds for unforeseen
events or emergency purchases during the year. Transfers will be made this year to the
Capital Projects Fund to pay for the debt service for the Rufe Snow Street Project, a joint
City of Watauga and City of North Richland Hills project. Additionally, the transfer will
cover miscellaneous engineering services. A transfer from General Fund to other funds
include a transfer to the Capital Projects Fund for sidewalk replacements in the amount
of $150,000 and street maintenance in the amount of $250,000.

Beginning in the FY2020-2021 budget process and continuing this year, all line items in
non-departmental division were evaluated and have been moved to the managing
department that handles that expense item. This was a reallocation and had no overall
impact on the budget. A City Attorney division was created last fiscal year and related
expenses were moved from non-departmental for transparency purposes. There was a
substantial decrease in city attorney expenses due to contracting with a new legal firm in
FY2021-2022.

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