Page 282 - CityofSouthlakeFY26AdoptedBudget

The City has also used the SIF to purchase expensive, but necessary equipment, such as fire apparatus
and ambulances, make improvements to City facilities such as the Senior Activity Center, improve the
City’s technology infrastructure, and establish a much needed facility maintenance reserve fund. Figure
1 details SIF projects funded since 2006.

Like many other municipalities, the City was impacted by the 2008 economic recession and had to
make decisions during those years to freeze pay, leave certain positions unfilled, and defer the purchase
of needed equipment in order to achieve structural balance with its budget. But the impact of the
recession was minimized by the SIF. The SIF has been an important tool for the City of Southlake to
use to weather economic events like the recession by allowing the City to move forward with capital
projects without compromising the City’s fund balance, raising taxes, or increasing the City’s debt load.

The City’s budget is sustainable and healthy, and able to withstand the effects of unforeseeable economic
impacts. This is due, in part, to the City’s use of innovative financial practices, such as the SIF.
Strategic Initiative Fund
Figure 3
Strategic Initiative Fund Expenditures by

Type: FY 2026

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Current Considerations
The use of the SIF as a budget technique for future years depends on several factors:

• The City’s ability to meet its operational expenses with a structurally balanced budget for the current
budget year and in a multi-year context;
• The City’s ability to maintain a fund balance within policy parameters;
• The City’s capital needs and its ability to fund those in a timely manner to ensure infrastructure
needs are addressed appropriately; and,
• Tax rate management.

282 FY 2026 City of Southlake | Budget Book FY 2026 City of Southlake | Budget Book 283