DATE: November 4, 2015
TO: Board of Mayor and Aldermen
FROM: Eric Stuckey, City Administrator
Russ Truell, ACA/CFO
Michael Walters Young, Business Process Improvement Manager
SUBJECT:
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FY 2017 Operating Budget Process & Calendar
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Purpose
The purpose of this memo is to provide information to the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) concerning the development of FY 2017 Operating and Capital Budgets for the City of Franklin.
Background
Now that November is here and fall is in the air, it is time to begin a new budget process for the City of Franklin. Fiscal Year 2017 will present similar challenges and opportunities for the City as we endeavor to do our best to provide the citizens and taxpayers the best municipal services possible in the most cost-efficient manner. In order to tackle the challenges of the next fiscal year and beyond, there are several process changes which staff would like the BOMA to consider throughout the budget process over the next seven months. While some things will not change (the review of a Revenue Model and the creation of Base Budgets and Program Enhancement Requests for example) others will require direct action and review from the BOMA. These proposed changes include:
1) Budget Calendar
Please refer to the attached budget calendar for the FY 2017 process. Fundamentally, the review of department budgets will remain the same; an internal review by Finance staff and then the City Administrator followed by a series of departmental presentations in the months of February, March and April culminating in the City Administrator’s recommended budget submission in May. This will be preceded by a review of forecast revenues in January, and proposed budget goals in December. Different in FY 2017 will be the expectation internally for department heads to submit their budget requests into Finance by the end of January. It is hoped that the submission of all requests earlier will assist budgeteers and policy makers in knowing earlier in the process the total needs of the City and be able to better plan for potential trade-offs over the months of February-April. We also believe this will aid in our ability to review budget requests and promote those which tie to the Strategic Plan because we will have more time to analyze the requests and potential funding sources.
2) Inclusion of Capital Budgeting into the Operating review period
Traditionally separate from the operating budget, the planning and review of capital projects needs and in fact demands special attention from the BOMA and staff in a growing community such as Franklin. However it is impossible to truly segregate the two processes when often the needs of both operating and capital budgets compete for the same revenue streams. We would like the Board to consider a review of the total need of Capital requests during the Operating budget, perhaps in March or April. No decisions would be made on specific projects at this time - that would still be reserved for an independent process later in 2016. We believe, however, if staff can demonstrate the total available revenues in January, receive the total base budget and enhancement requests in February, and then have the total capital requests in March, both budgeteers, senior administrators and the BOMA will have a much richer picture of the total financial demands of the community and be able to make the best decisions when approving a budget in May.
Financial Impact
There is no financial impact associated with this particular item, but will with the eventual adoption of the FY 2017 Operating Budget.
Recommendation
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Staff recommends review of the FY 2017 Budget Process & Calendar.