Agenda Packets - 1991/10/14 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

cities. Those reductions have challenged cities to maintain levels of service to their citizens with reduced revenues. The City has met this challenge through improved financial planning. The annual budget has been substantially improved in recent years as a result of greater involvement and participation by staff and Council. In 1988, 1989 and 1990 the Government Finance Officer's Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) awarded it's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to the City for its budget document. As a consequence, the City has been able to continue to provide needed public services to its residents with only modest increases in property tax rates and develop cash flow and contingency reserves needed to maintain its financial integrity. In order to maintain its ability to provide needed public service to its residents, the City needs to maintain the present level of financial planning and to expand long range planning efforts begun with the 1983 Water and Sewer System Maintenance and Capital Improvement Program. That type of planning should be undertaken for acquisition/replacement and maintenance of all land,buildings and equipment. Staff has prepared a replacement schedule for all City vehicles and equip- ment. The City has established a fund into which monies will be placed annually for replacement of vehicles and equipment. The purpose of this fund is to ensure that necessary funds be on hand for timely replacement of vehicles and equipment and to avoid large unplanned expenditures or "budget busters" which would place a strain on the City's finances. One of the goals of the Department the past few years has been to maintain/or improve the City's bond rating; that goal has been accomplished. In April of 1991 the City received a rating of A from Moodys Investors Service for a Water Revenue issue. The City's financial advisors stated that this was the best rating that could be obtained by a City of our size. The rating committee of Moodys felt that the City had sound financial management. They were impressed with the City's financial planning and the fact that designations for cash flow and emergencies had been established. The Finance Department has had the goal of substantially improving the - City's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. To achieve this goal several objectives were established. These objectives are outlined in the following paragraphs. The first objective was the implementation of a Fixed Asset Accounting System. Such a system will enable the city to properly inventory and account 13