03-09-20 Regular Meeting of the La Porte City Council

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During the upcoming fiscal year, the city will benefit from increased estimated taxes of $3.3 million annually from new construction in the Industrial District being taxed at 63% due to the expiration of the new construction period and growth from revaluations and new construction from residential and commercial will add $115 million in value to our property rolls. Conservative revenue estimates and efforts to reduce expenditures have contributed to the City’s strong financial position and have allowed the City to weather the economic slump. We are especially pleasedthat there have been no property taxes rate increases for (29) twenty-nine years. Additional capital projects are being funded by utilizing excess fund balances and previously issued debt that had been stranded. With the associated fund draw downs, the remaining fund balances continue to meet operational objectives andcurrent fiscal policies. Awards and Acknowledgements The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City for its comprehensive annual financial report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018.This was the thirty-eighth consecutive year that the City has received this prestigious award. In order to be awarded a Certificate of Achievement, the City published an easilyreadable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. This report satisfied bothgenerally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. A Certificate of Achievement is valid for a period of one year only. We believe that our currentcomprehensive annual financial report continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement Program'srequirements and we are submitting it to the GFOA to determine its eligibility for another certificate. Inaddition, the city also received the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Award for its annual budgetdocument. In order to qualify for the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the government's budgetdocument was judged to be proficient in several categories, including as a pol icy document, a financialplan, an operations guide and a communications device. Other financial awards to the City are the Popular Financial Report Award from GFOA, the Investment Policy Award from the Government Treasurer’s Organization of Texas, the Transparency Stars Award from the State of Texas Comptroller and the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award from the National Procurement Institute. The preparation of this report would not have been possible without the efficient and dedicated services of the entire staff of the finance andadministration department. We would like to express our appreciation to all members of the departmentwho assisted and contributed to the preparation of this report. Credit also must be given to the mayor andcity council for their unfailing support for maintaining the highest standards of professionalism in themanagement of the City of La Porte's finances. Respectfully submitted, DRAFT 02.25.2020 vi