11-12-12 Regular Meeting of La Porte City Council

Browse Search

Service planning All departments shall share in the responsibility of meeting policy goals and ensuring long-term financial viability. Future service plans and program initiatives shall be developed reflecting policy directives, projected resources and future service requirements. Contingencies The City shall budget a contingency in each of its operating and capital improvement funds. The contingency amount shall be used at the discretion of the City Manager for items that were unexpected or unforeseen during the formal budget process.Funding shall be targeted at one(1) percent of the City's operating expenditures. The City will have in place a budget contingency plan that addresses financial conditions which could result in a net shortfallof resources as compared to requirements. The plan will identify various phases to address the severity of possible budget shortfalls and outline the actions to be taken in such a situation. GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award The City shall annually submit necessary documentation to obtain the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award as awarded by the Governmental Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. RP 2. EVENUE OLICIES The objective of the revenue policies is to ensure that funding for public programs is derived from a fair, equitable and adequate resource base, while minimizing tax differential burdens. Revenue structure In the City of La Porte’s fiscal system, the monitoring and control of revenues is a primaryconcern. The City shall attempt to maintain a diversified and stable revenue system to shelter programs from short- term fluctuations in any single revenue source. Potential revenue sources will be evaluated and, if feasible, initiated.To accomplish this, revenues are monitored on a continuous basis to insure that receipts from each revenue source are at maximum levels. An understanding of the economic and legal factors which directly and indirectly affect the level of revenue collections is an important part of the City’s revenue policy. 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.One-time / non-recurring revenues include sale of assets, settlements from lawsuits, etc. Acceptable uses include paying down debt, building up reserve levels, and special projects that reduce long-term operating costs. Revenue collection The City shall follow an aggressive, but humane, policy of collecting revenues.The City will, after having considered all possible cost reduction alternatives, explore the possibility of obtaining new or expanded revenue sources as a way to help insure a balancedbudget. Cost recovery revenue sources will be analyzed on an annual basis and modified as necessary to insure that revenue collections reflect the cost of providing associated City services.