Title
RESOLUTION NO. R17-42
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, ADOPTING THE FINAL BUDGET OF THE AMOUNTS REQUIRED FOR THE PUBLIC EXPENSE FOR THE CITY OF GLENDALE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2017-2018, SETTING FORTH THE REVENUE AND THE AMOUNT TO BE RAISED BY DIRECT PROPERTY TAXATION AND ADOPTING THE CITY COUNCIL’S FINANCIAL POLICIES.
Staff Contact: Vicki Rios, Director, Budget and Finance
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Purpose and Policy Recommendation
This is a request for City Council to waive reading beyond the title, review the proposed Fiscal Year 2017-18 (FY17-18) final budget, conduct a public hearing on the final budget, and convene a special meeting to adopt a resolution formally approving the final operating, capital, debt service, and contingency appropriation budget.
Background
Arizona state law requires the governing board of cities, towns, and counties to conduct a public hearing and then convene a special meeting to adopt a resolution approving the final annual budget. The regular voting meeting does not need to be adjourned to convene and conduct the special meeting required for the budget adoption.
Council approval of the tentative budget at the May 23, 2017 meeting set the maximum level of expenditure for FY17-18 at $672 million. Adjustments and reallocation of appropriation authority may be made after adoption of the tentative budget but the total amount of appropriation cannot be increased.
The FY17-18 budget process included a five-year financial forecast of the operating funds, a review of the proposed ten-year Capital Improvement Plan, and a review of the detailed budget request for each of the departments which included both operating funds and the capital outlay. To inform and deliberate on current budget issues, seven Budget Workshops were held and focused on specific budget and financial strategies for FY17-18 and future fiscal years.
Analysis
The FY17-18 Final Budget request totals $672 million. This is a 3.0% decrease over the prior year’s budget (FY16-17) of $693 million. The budget decrease is mainly attributable to a reduction in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan.
Overall, the goal of the FY17-18 budget is to continue to improve the city’s financial stability while maintaining a high quality of service delivery, beginning to address deferred asset maintenance and moving forward with the development of the city’s strategic plan. Development of the budget centered around the following key priorities:
• Financial Stability and Sustainability
o $50 million unrestricted fund balance by year FY19-20
o No projected general fund deficits over the 5-year planning forecast
o Continued review of financial policies
• Excellence in Service Delivery
o Budget requests are driven by customer and service delivery needs
o Core programs are retained without cuts in service levels
• Investment in Capital Improvements and Infrastructure
o Increases to begin addressing deferred asset maintenance
• Strategic Planning
o Gathering data to establish metrics
• Funding for initiatives to improve efficiency
Highlights of the proposed budget include:
• No increase to the Primary Property Tax Levy
• Continued funding of vehicle replacements
• Funding for maintenance of police body cameras and related safety equipment
• Addition of a half-time position for Code Enforcement and absorption of two Code Enforcement positions which were previously grant funded
• Increased staffing in the city attorney’s office to address the demands of the city’s specialized Mental Health Court
• Increased staffing in Engineering to support Enterprise funded infrastructure projects
• Funding of a pilot program in the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) to increase hotel/motel occupancy
• Increased funding to replace aging residential recycling containers
• Funding for strategic initiatives including a LEAN academy and stakeholder survey tools
• Funding to assess the condition and management of the city’s property holdings
Exhibit A, which is attached to the resolution, contains additional information regarding the budget including the schedules required to be adopted in accordance with state statutes. Line 1 of Schedule B on the required state schedules has been corrected for this Final Budget adoption. Line 1 of Schedule B had an error as it was presented at the Tentative Budget adoption, however the error did not impact any calculations; the number presented on that line is for information only.
Previous Related Council Action
City Council adopted a resolution formally approving the tentative operating, capital, debt service, and contingency appropriation budget at the May 23, 2017 voting meeting. At that time, Council also gave notice of the date for the June 13, 2017 Public Hearing on:
• The FY17-18 Final Budget,
• The FY17-18 Property Tax Levy, and
• The June 27, 2017 date the adoption of the FY17-18 Property Tax Levy.
On May 2, 2017, the final FY17-18 Budget Workshop included follow up presentations on the city’s FY 2018-2027 Capital Improvement Plan and Department Operating budgets.
On April 28, 2017, the second of two all-day budget workshops included presentation on several city department operating budgets for the FY17-18 Budget.
On April 24, 2017, the first of two all-day budget workshops included presentation on several city department operating budgets for the FY17-18 Budget.
On April 4, 2017, the FY17-18 Budget Workshop included follow-up presentations on the City’s Draft FY2018-2027 Capital Improvement Plan.
On March 21, 2017, the FY17-18 Budget Workshop included presentation of the Draft FY2018-2027 Capital Improvement Plan.
On March 7, 2017, the FY17-18 Budget Overview including; revenues and other future discussion items were presented to the City Council at the second in a series of budget workshops.
February 7, 2017, the FY17-18 Budget Overview including; calendar, process, legal requirements, major budget components and future discussion items was presented to the City Council at the first in a series of budget workshops.
On December 20, 2016, the General Fund and Major Operating Funds Five-Year Financial Forecast was presented at Council Workshop and initiated the FY17-18 budget process.
Community Benefit/Public Involvement
The community benefit of the City’s budget process, policy direction, and budgetary decisions demonstrates sound financial decisions are made through a transparent and public process where ultimate budgetary decisions align with the strategic direction of the City and provide the public with information on services provided and Council priorities.
Budget and Financial Impacts
The FY17-18 Final Budget request totals $672 million.