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City of Mansfield Annual Budget and Service Program Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Table of Contents

Guiding Policies and Development of the Strategic Plan

The City of Mansfield, Texas, annually prepares and reviews its comprehensive Strategic
Plan. This plan is guided by long-term fiscal policies that have been in place for over three
decades. The benefits of these long-term fiscal policies are evident from the results of the
fiscal performance of the City and the strength of the City’s credit ratings, or its ability to
repay its obligations within the community it serves and its creditors.
Guiding Fiscal Policy - Growth pays for Growth

The current residents of the City are only asked to bear the costs of basic services; the cost
of infrastructure development and the related services needed to support the development
is to be paid for by the population creating the demand for these costs. This policy
essentially manages the cost of development and cost of services with the new recipients
of these services. The policy also encourages the timely development of infrastructure and
discourages the City from developing its infrastructure too quickly because funding
becomes too costly for existing stakeholders. Growth pays for Growth.

Other Policies and Practices

Policies and practices are only as effective as the City’s ability and political willingness to
adhere to its policies and practices. The City Councils of the City of Mansfield, Texas over the
years have supported and encouraged fiscal accountability and responsibility through the
adoption of fiscal policies and the practices of those fiscal policies, as evidenced by health
fund balances in all major funds. The instituted financial policies and practices generally
govern the fiscal performance of the City. A few practices are as follows:
Revenues
One Time Revenues Matched with One Time Expenses
Manage User Fees to Match the Market Costs
Cash Reserve Requirements
Effective Utilization of Potential Tax Base (undeveloped land)
Expenses
Service Excellence: Quality of Service at the Lowest Costs
Community Safety
Managed Growth-planning and Infrastructure Development
Recruitment of a Skilled Workforce; Competitive Salary Program
Protection of the City’s Credit Ratings
Another key policy in keeping the City’s fiscal condition in good health is the annual rating
review with three rating houses: Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s. The rating houses
refer to this annual review as market surveillance which is a formalized requirement of the
rating agencies. The City’s financial condition is presented annually to each of the rating
houses. This policy allows Management to clearly express its views to 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.

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