Do you support or oppose the adoption of the revised 2016-2017 and proposed 2017-2018 budgets by the City Commission?

The City of Decatur’s Revised 2016-2017 and Proposed 2017-2018 budgets have been presented to the City Commission and are available to the public for review. The City’s budget is scheduled to be voted upon by the City Commission on June 19, 2017.

Do you support or oppose the adoption of this budget by the City Commission? Click on Post below to have your say.

Background

The City Commission is considering balanced budgets that maintain existing service levels at the existing millage rate. Highlights of the proposed budget include:

• Maintain existing service delivery levels
• Increased homestead exemption options
• Continued focus on supporting and maintaining quality of life services
• Implementation of strategic plan priorities
• 5% merit-based general market adjustment for full-time employees effective January 1, 2018
• IT enhancements including upgrades to the fiber network and additional automated parking pay stations
• Pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements
• Public Safety Vehicles
• Acquisition and operation of the United Methodist Children’s Home greenspace as a city facility

The proposed 2017-2018 budget reflects the City’s “vision-based” budgeting process which is guided by the 2010 Strategic Plan and the results of citizen and employee surveys that provide an understanding of the community’s priorities. Five interdepartmental vision-based budgeting teams convened around the four 2010 Strategic Plan principles and one team focused on support of exceptional public service based on innovation, professional expertise and creativity. In addition to descriptive narratives around each strategic plan principle, the budget quantifies how each principle is supported financially.

The proposed 2017-2018 General Fund budget totals $25,196,590. This is $819,550 higher than the adopted 2016-2017 budget of $24,377,040. The proposed 2017-2018 budget estimates using $1,180,030 of fund balance on non-recurring expenditures. This would result in a remaining fund balance of approximately $6,686,330 at June 30, 2018 or approximately 27% of the operating budget. The City’s financial policies recommend maintaining a fund balance between 20-30% of the operating budget.

Overall, the budget combines conservative revenue estimates, prudent expenditure requests, responsible use of fund balance and a commitment to the city’s strategic plan and long-term vision. 

For more detailed information about the proposed budget and City priorities, you can visit the City’s budget resources page.

A summary of the budget and descriptions of projects and programs can be found in these three documents:

City Manager’s Budget Message 
Budget Narrative 
Summary of Fund Budgets 

Do you support or oppose the adoption of this budget by the City Commission? Click on Post below to have your say.