City of La Porte Operating Budget 1996-1997

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I The expenses for the new year are budgeted at $6,179,885, which is $76,405, or 1.25% greater than the current fiscal year. The expenses, by department, for the current fiscal year are shown below: Budget Budget Division 1995-96 1996-97 Variance Percent Water Production 367,431 378,716 11,285 3.07% Water Distribution 436,761 426,832 -9,929 -2.27% Wastewater Collection 723,557 724,186 629 0.09% Wastewater Treatment 709,511 693,720 -15,791 -2.23% Utility Billing 463,220 452,237 -10,983 -2.37% Non-departmental 3.403.000 3.504.194 101.194 2.97% Total Expenses 6,103,480 6,179,885 76,405 1.25% The increase in the Water Production Division. is caused by an increase in estimated electrical expense for operating tne City's water system pumps. The primary reason for the increase in the Non-departmental Division is an increase in payments to the La Porte Area Water Authority. The decreases in the three divisions are attributed to fine tuning of budgeting for personal services where the impact of expected employee turn over is taken into consideration in the budgeting process. Utility Fund Overall Fund Condition The projected end-of-year working capital balance for the Utility Fund is $2,137,188 which is approximately 34.6%, or 126 days of budgeted expenses. This is slightly above the targeted balance of 90 to 120 days of working capital as called for in the City's Financial Management Policies. Other Enterprise Funds All enterprise funds meet or exceed the working capital targets outlined in the financial management plan. One item of interest in these funds involves the Golf Course. The Golf Course has set aside $320,000 over the last two years to fund an expansion of its club house area. This project will be completed during fiscal year 96-97. In addition, the Golf Course Fund has increased the transfer to the Debt Service Fund by $130,000 for the new year. This brings the total annual transfer to $250,000. Internal Service Funds Both of the internal service funds are operations which include funding for future large capital outlays and therefore are not easily measured by days of working capital. Both funds include sufficient amounts to adequately replace equipment as it becomes necessary. The Motor Pool Fund will expend $596,713 in replacing existing vehicles that have reached the end of their useful life while the Computer Fund will expend $95,400 to replace computer equipment. In addition to the $95,400 budgeted in the Computer Fund, the City will also spend $375,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund for computer systems. This additional amount is needed to fund the replacement of the Financial and Administrative Data Processing System. When the Computer Fund was created in fiscal year 1993-94, the City elected to fund the new system with Capital Improvement funds instead of inflating lease fees for two years. 1-11