Page 50 - CityofMansfieldFY25Budget
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the rating committee chairs who evaluate the City’s credit. The agencies consider the
                   management of the City to be strong, as evidenced by our ratings.

                   Fiscal Policy is Measured

                   Each year in evaluating the Strategic Plan, Management considers its guiding policy by
                   monitoring indices that encourage  good fiscal  health.  These indices  also alert
                   Management of potential fiscal distress, stress, or variances from the City’s guiding fiscal
                   policy of letting “Growth Pay for Growth.”  Key indices include debt ratios, coverage
                   requirements and cash reserve requirements. Debt ratios are evaluated before the issuance
                   of debt or additional borrowings; coverage requirements or the percentage of  earnings
                   above annual debt payments; and solvency is monitored and measured annually to the
                   wealth of the community and the service needs of the citizens. If these indices get too low
                   or too high, Management acts to restore these indices to their normal levels.


                   Strategic Plan

                   The Plan is designed to meet the current and future service demands of the community
                   based upon current management practices and current funding provisions of existing
                   programs. It allows for the expected or projected service needs of the community for the
                   next ten fiscal years,  2025-2034. The service needs include the Capital Improvement
                   Programs, Operating and Capital Equipment Programs, employee recruitment programs,
                   and expansion of existing programs. City departments have provided input and a needs
                   assessment of the expected service level requirements in the future.

                   The Plan is designed  for continuous adjusting based on  economic variables and local
                   activity drivers that affect the service requirements. It provides for a degree of certainty
                   in setting expectations  for future spending  and is expressive in its intent of future
                   spending  patterns but  is not to be construed  as  the  final funding authority for  future
                   programs, future indebtedness or commitments to any program, vendor, stakeholder, or
                   other interested party of the City as occurrences in the development of the City may alter
                   the priority of funding uses required to service the City.

                   Financial Forecast and Projections

                   This  Strategic Plan is a planning tool used to  guide and address these demands for
                   funding while identifying potential stress points or weaknesses in the  services being
                   provided by the City. It is also designed to steer the City clear of fiscal distress or warn
                   Management of potential fiscal stress when assuming  certain assumptions in spending
                   patterns, inflationary provisions,  legislative mandates,  infrastructure programs,  and
                   recruitment and retention programs. It also encourages the City to think into the future
                   and in so doing, it encourages managers to anticipate the costs of future populations as
                   well as current populations, while providing for the financial stability of the community
                   by projecting the future costs of City services.




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