City of La Porte Operating Budget 1998-1999

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A Readers Guide The accounts of the City are organized on the basis of funds and account groups, each of which is considered to be a separate accounting entity. Each fund can be generally thought of as a small business. The operations of each fund are maintained using a set of self-balancing accounts which comprise its assets, liabilities, fund equity, revenues, and expenditures or expenses. Resources are budgeted to the individual funds by activity and are controlled within the fund. The next four sections are the Fund Sections and are organized as follows: Fund Summary, Statement of Revenues, Department Summary, Divisional Goals and Objectives, and the Divisional Summary. The Capital Improvements Funds section includes a Description of Projects which would be of interest to the lay reader. The Debt Service Funds Section consists of the City's Long Range Service Plan for Debt Service and is designed to stand alone as a separate document. The Miscellaneous Section summarizes the Hotel/Motel O<;:cupancy Tax and Economic Development Funds. A schedule of Operating Capital Outlay is presented for your review. Especially helpful to the lay reader is the Chart of Revenue Accounts, Chart of Operating Expense Accounts and Gloss.ary of Terms. The Statistical Section presents multi-year data for expenditures, revenues, property tax levies and collections, property tax rates and valuations for overlapping governments, ratios of bonded debt, legal debt margin, overlapping debt, ratio of debt service to general expenditures, revenue bond coverage, property value/construction, principal taxpayers and miscellaneous statistics. The Financial Management Policies reflect long-standing principles and practices which have enabled the City to maintain its financial stability. These policies provide a basic framework for the overall fiscal management of the City, and represent a foundation to address changing circumstances and conditions. For those individuals who prefer a more detailed synopsis, the Line Item Detail Section has been added. This section reflects an itemized recap of expenditures by detail, and is designed to stand alone as a separate document. The City Manager's Message, which immediately follows this guide, provides an in-depth overview of the proposed budget. For maximum benefit, you are encouraged to read this section and review the summary and statistical sections of the budget. Staff diligently strives to improve the Budget Document each year and participates in the GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award Program. To be eligible for the award, a governmental unit must publish a budget document that meets program criteria as a policy document, an operations guide, a financial plan and a communications device. This award is the highest form of recognition in governmental budgeting, and the City has received this award for seven consecutive years. Should you have any questions or comments regarding the information presented in this document, please feel free to contact the Director of Finance at 281: 471-5020; or any of the Executive Staff Members listed on page ii. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I v . .