City of DeSoto FINANCIAL POLICIES
Fiscal
Balanced Budget - Budgets cannot exceed available resources, defined as revenues generated in the current period added to balances carried forward from prior years. Temporary shortages, or operating deficits, can and do occur, but they are not tolerated as extended trends. Measures are developed to provide additional revenue and/or reduced expenditures to eliminate operating deficits. Long Range Planning – The budget process will be coordinated so as to identify major policy issues for City Council consideration several months prior to the budget approval date so that proper decision analysis can be made. A five-year budget analysis of all City funds is developed to enable Council to understand the long-term impact of budget decisions. Asset Inventory – Annually, the City conducts a condition analysis of major capital assets such as streets, water and sewer lines, and drainage infrastructure. Additionally, the City maintains a capital improvement program based on stakeholder input and reflects all capital projects for a five-year horizon. Use of General Fund’s Fund Balance – The use of the General Fund Reserve Balance will be limit ed to the amount that is in excess of the minimum reserve requirement and will be appropriated based on the approval of City Council each budget year.
Revenue
Revenue Diversification – A diversified and stable revenue system will be maintained to shelter the City from short run fluctuations in any one revenue source. Fees and Charges – The City will maximize utilization of user charges in lieu of property taxes for services that can be individually identified and where the costs are directly related to the level of service. There will be periodic review of fees and charges to ensure that fees provide adequate coverage of costs of service. Use of One-time Revenues – One-time revenues will be used only for one-time expenditures. The City will avoid using temporary revenues to fund mainstream services. Use of Unpredictable Revenue – The City will try to understand its revenue sources, and enact consistent collection policies so that assurances can be provided that the revenue base will materialize according to budgets and plans. Use of unpredictable revenue will depend upon management’ s determination whether the revenue is considered a one-time revenue or will recur annually.
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