Res 2013-142/Adopting a revised financial policy

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1. Adopted Budget — The City Manager presents a budget to the City Council. The budget provides a complete financial plan for the ensuing fiscal year, and shall contain a budget message explaining the budget, containing an outline of the adopted financial policies of the City for the ensuing fiscal year, setting forth the reasons for salient changes from the previous fiscal year in expenditure and revenue items, and explaining any major changes in financial policy. a) The budget should include four basic segments for review and evaluation. These segments are: (1) actual revenue and expenditure amounts for the last completed fiscal year, (2) original revenue and expenditure amounts budgeted for the current fiscal year, (3) revenue and expenditure amounts estimated for the current fiscal year, and (4) revenue and expenditure amounts for the ensuing fiscal year. b) The City Manager, not less than 30 days prior to the time the City Council makes its tax levy for the current fiscal year, shall file with the City Clerk the adopted budget. 2. Adoption — The City Council shall call and publicize a public hearing to allow for citizen participation. The City Council will subsequently adopt by Ordinance such budget, as it may have been amended, as the City's annual budget effective for the fiscal year beginning October 1St. The budget should be adopted by the City Council no later than the expiration of the fiscal year. C. Balanced Budget — The operating budget will be balanced with current revenues, which may include beginning fund balances less required reserves as established by City Council, greater than or equal to current expenditures. D. Planning — The budget process will be coordinated so as to identify major policy and financial issues for City Council consideration several months prior to the budget adoption date. This will allow adequate time for appropriate decisions and analysis of financial impacts. E. Reporting — Financial reports will be made available to Department Directors to manage their budgets and to enable the Director of Finance to monitor the overall budget. The Director of Finance will present summary financial and budgetary reports to the City Council to disclose the overall budget and financial condition of the City. The financial and budgetary reports will include comparisons of actual to budget, actual to prior year, appropriate ratios, and graphs to ensure full disclosure and present meaningful information. F. Control and Accountability — Department Directors will be responsible to ensure that their department budgets will not exceed budgeted amounts. Department Directors will be responsible to ensure revenues generated by activities of their departments meet budgeted amounts.