Page 14 - CityofSouthlakeFY25AdoptedBudget

August 15, 2024

Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
1400 Main Street, Suite 270
Southlake, Texas 76092

Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,

In accordance with the Texas Local Government Code and the Charter of the City of Southlake, I am pleased
to present you with the adopted annual operating budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024,
and ending September 30, 2025. This budget supports the City Council’s strategic priorities and financially
aligns with established financial guiding principles to promote long-term financial sustainability. I would
Budget Overview
like to thank everyone on Team Southlake for their dedicated work on this budget proposal. As a service
organization, our team is our greatest asset and they have performed admirably to ensure high quality
service to our community across all aspects of our business.

Following my transition in February 2024 into the City Manager role, I met with City Council to understand
priorities, and subsequently met with department leaders to evaluate and understand key elements of the
City’s operations. The City also gathered critical customer feedback at the start of FY 2024 with the most
recent citizen survey update.

In addition to ensuring alignment with the City Council’s
strategic priorities as well as established financial guiding FY 2025 Budget
principles, some important considerations have also guided
the development of this budget proposal. First, the City is Accomplishments
entering the next lifecycle phase, characterized by a slowing
of new revenue from development and transitioning to a larger Tax Rate Reduction
focus on maintenance and replacement of aging infrastructure,
commercial redevelopment and development of smaller Maximum Homestead Exemption
“infill” properties across the city, and long-term revenue
sustainability. Additionally, the City is a service industry, Optimum Fund Balances
subject to the same economic conditions that affect the rest
of the state and country. While inflationary pressures have Debt Management
cooled in comparison to recent years, the City’s costs related
to labor, goods and other services continue to be impacted Cash Funding for Capital Projects
by higher inflation. While it has long been our practice to
exercise expenditure discipline through numerous strategies, Structural Balance
we must recognize and continue to adapt to this changing
environment where resource growth is reduced by slowed Strong Net Revenues
commercial growth paired with rising costs of providing
services and lifecycle demands for asset and infrastructure Limited Expenditure Growth
maintenance.
Multi-Year Sustainability
Southlake continues to be in a position of financial strength
and remains a community of choice due to a long-standing Competitive Compensation & Benefits
commitment to strong strategic and financial management
guidelines. The City’s fiscal health is a result of effective No Service Level Reductions
financial management, strategic planning and consistent

14 FY 2025 City of Southlake | Budget Book