Page 57 - CityofHaltomFY24Budget

City Of Haltom City Annual Budget, Fy2024 General Fund

GENERAL FUND DESCRIPTION

FUND SUMMARY

The General Fund is used to account for all revenues and expenditures not designated for a specific
purpose. A budget is created annually to plan and control spending and is adopted by the Haltom City
elected City Council members. Expenditures include essential and operational services like police,
fire, and public infrastructure (streets, buildings) contributing directly to the well-being and safety of
the community. Resources from variance revenues are used to support the General Funds including
property taxes, sales and use taxes, franchise fees, license and permit fees, service charges, and fines
from the Municipal Court. The General Fund is the financial backbone of the city, ensuring that it has the
necessary resources to provide a wide range of services to its residents and maintain the infrastructure
and facilities that contribute to the overall quality of life in the community.

CONCLUDING FISCAL YEAR 2023 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Revenues in the General Fund are estimated to total $35.9 million, which is $2.1 million more than
FY2023 adopted budget. The City’s strong commercial and economic growth resulted in nearly a million
in additional sales and use taxes than budgeted and along with another million received from interest
earnings.

Expenditures in the General Fund are estimated to be $37.8 million, which is $2 million less than
FY2023 adopted budget. Several reason contributed including the lag time to fill job openings and
staff’s conservative spending approach. The department’s that saw the greatest savings were Police,
Building Maintenance, and Streets and Drainage.
Fund Balance at the end of the year is the net difference in revenues and expenditures added to the
beginning fund balance. The estimated ending fund balance for FY2023 is $27.1 million, $17.1 million
is unrestricted which is 45% more than the minimum required 20% reserve policy.

FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET GENERAL FUND REVENUES

In fiscal year 2024, the General Fund revenue is expected to total $38.1 million, representing a $1.4
million (4%) increase from FY2023. Even with a conservative approach, revenues in FY2024 expected
to increase in most category such as property tax, sales tax, and licenses & permit fees reflecting
Haltom City’s strong economy. The estimated taxable property values increased to $3.6 billion, a
growth of half a billion more than last year. Because of the strong property values, the City was able
to lower property tax rates, for the sixth year in a row, another $.041 per $100 to $0.567283 per $100.
Expenditures for fiscal year 2024 are projected to be $44.2 million, a $4.3 milion increase from the
previous budget. The increase includes the replacement of fire engine for fire department, new gradall
and skid steer loader for streets division, computer desktop, and to rehab the city website. Also, the
City included five new positions and salary increases to meet Council’s long-term commitment towards
attracting and retaining high-quality staff. After revenues and expenditures, plus any budgeted transfers
to other funds, the projected ending fund balance at year-end 2023 is $11.7 million. Although the project
balance represents $1.6 million less than 2023 budget, it is still 27% over the 20% reserve policy.