Annual Budget Process Handout Copyrighted
May 20, 2024
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 026.
City Council Meeting
ITEM TITLE: Annual Budget Process Handout
SUM MARY: City Manager providing information on the city's annual budget process.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Budget Process Handout Supporting Documentation
THE CITY OF
The City of Dubuque's DUB E
Annual Budget Process
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
What is a City Budget?
A budget is several things:
1. The budget is a fiscal plan setting out anticipated revenue and expenditures for accomplishing a
variety of services over a given time frame. The fiscal plan includes:
a) an explanation of the services, activities, programs and projects to be provided by the City to
the residents;
b) the resultant expenditure requirements; and
c) the resources available for meeting the expenditure requirements.
2. The budget is a rop cess concerned with the allocation of available resources among alternatives
and competing departments, activities and programs. Cities rarely have enough money to be
able to appropriate all the funds requested to all departments and activities and, as a result,
there is considerable competition for whatever money is available. Budgeting, as a process, is
concerned with developing an acceptable mix or balance between costs and services and
represents the decisions made with respect to:
a) quality and quantity of activities and projects to be undertaken; and
b) financing of those activities and projects.
3. The budget is a policv document which:
a) establishes the authority to spend funds, and levy and collect property taxes;
b) represents a commitment to provide a specific level of service within a given amount of
resources; and establishes criteria (objectives, measures and dollar limits) for evaluating and
controlling expenditures, revenue collections and performance. Through the budget, policies are
made, put into effect, and controlled.
4. The budget is a leqal requirement. State law requires the City Manager to prepare the annual
budget and the City Council to adopt the annual budget and certify it to the County Auditor by
April 30th of each year preceding the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1st. The budget must
be on a program - performance basis and show:
a) expenditures for each program;
b) income from sources other than property taxes; and
c) amount to be raised by the property taxation and the property tax rate expressed in dollars per
thousand of assessed value.
The budget must also show comparisons between expenditures in each program and between
levels of service.
The purpose of the budget is to:
1. To meet the legal requirement.
2. To establish spending and income-raising authority.
3. To establish a work program for the fiscal year (objectives) and present it to the public.
4. To manage and control resources and their use.
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5. To assure the proper mix of costs and services.
6. To assure the most effective and efficient use of available resources.
7. To set the tempo and direction of the city government.
8. To prioritize policies and objectives.
9. To link dollars with results.
Budget Cycle
The budget cycle is a sequence of events covering the life of a budget from beginning to end; from the
City Manager's review of prior year accomplishments and future initiatives, to the City Council
approval of the final budget amendment. The budget cycle is approximately twelve months long. The
critical dates are spelled out in State law: April 30th is when the budget for the following fiscal year
must be adopted by the City Council; and July 1 st as the beginning of the fiscal year. Throughout the
entire budget cycle, public input is encouraged to insure the adopted budget is resident-based. The
budget cycle can be summarized as follows:
Cit Council formulates ne otiation strate for collective bar ainin .
City Manager recommends budget carryover amendment for City Council
approval.
City staff solicits community input for potential priorities.
City Manager, along with Department Managers, review fiscal year
accomplishments and identify future initiatives for City Council consideration
durin oal settin .
City Council holds 2-day goal setting to develop Vision and Mission
� � � statements, identify 5-year goals and establish Policy agenda including Top
Priorities for u coming fiscal ear and Mana ement A enda/s ecial ro'ects.
City departments prepare Capital Improvement project information and
• • = ' bud et re uests for review b Cit Mana er.
� � . . City departments prepare operating budget and other budget requests for
� review by City Manager.
� City Manager holds Public Input meetings to review issues and priorities for
the ca ital bud et and the o eratin bud et.
, City Manager and Chief Financial Officer analyze, review and balance
. , . capital and operating budget requests and prepare final budget
recommendation.
City Manager presents draft Policy guidelines and Maximum Property Tax
Resolution to Cit Council for Cit Council approval.
City Council holds public meetings to review recommended budget by
department. Meetings are held in the evening and are available for live
viewin on Cit Channel Dubu ue.
City Council holds final public hearing on the recommended. The meeting is
held in the evening and is available for live viewing on City Channel
Dubuque.
City Council adopts budget and city staff certifies budget by April 30 in
compliance with State law.
Chief Financial Officer reviews budgeted revenues and expenses and
recommends adjustments to more accurately reflect the anticipated revenues
and expenses for the fiscal year ending June 30.
� City Council reviews and approves an amended fiscal year budget and city
staff certifies the budget amendments by May 31 in compliance with State
law.
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Dubuque's Budget Approach
The major characteristics of Dubuque's budget system are:
1. It has line items for control and fiscal management purposes.
2. It is organized by program, department and fund.
3. It attempts to identify, analyze, and articulate the fundamental purposes and objectives of
the Dubuque City government. This approach is intended to place emphasis upon
commitments, accomplishments, and activities performed rather than upon items
purchased and to provide for the establishment of priorities. It attempts to identify, quantify,
and analyze the demands on and accomplishments of organizational units in terms of
established goals, objectives, and purposes. Are we achieving our goals and living up to
our promises? This requires the establishment of workload and demand indicators and
evaluation criterion. It is performance that counts.
4. It attempts to identify all costs of each department, activity, and program, including capital
expenditure, debt service, and employee benefit costs. What does an activity or
department really cost?
5. It presents alternative service and funding levels for all activities in the operating budget.
The purpose is to provide the City Council with the widest possible range of alternatives to
maximize their opportunity for making policy decisions, assigning priorities and allocating
scarce resources to accomplish their policy objectives.
The City's budget approach involves the preparation of three budget documents. The Policy
Budget, the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget, and the Resident's Guide.
The Policy Budget includes the City department detail, by defining goals and objectives for all
City departments and activities, relates them to cost and resource requirements and attempts to
establish measures for evaluating accomplishment. Specific improvement packages are
developed and included in the Policy Budget for alternative funding and service levels. The Policy
Budget document shows the budget by line item for each Department and provides abasis for
fiscal control once the budget is adopted. The Policy Budget emphasizes objectives,
accomplishments, and alternative funding and service levels and is intended to keep the attention
of the City Council and public on the major policy decisions involving what services the City
government will provide, who will pay for them, and the implications of such decisions.
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget represents the City of Dubuque's five-year
physical development effort, attempts to address a variety of needs, which the City must meet if it
is to maintain its physical facilities, meet its service commitments and provide for its future
development. The CIP Budget reflects the City's comprehensive plan and the goals and priorities
established by the City Council. The first year of the five-year CIP Budget goes into the budget for
the next year and deserves the most attention. The CIP Budget is updated each year so that City
Council has the opportunity to change the next four years and add a new year.
The Resident's Guide pulls the entire budget together through visuals, narratives and
summaries. It explains the budget, provides revenue, expenditure and personnel summaries and
provides the City Council vision, goals and priorities on which the budget is based.
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FY2025 Budget Public Meetings
Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 Tuesday, April 2, 2024
• FY2025 Budget Public Input Meeting • Parks
• Recreation
Monday, March 7, 2024 � Office of Community Impact
• Multicultural Family Center
• Special City Council Meeting to Set the
March 25 Public Hearing Thursday, April 4, 2024
Monday, March 25, 2024 • Emergency Management
• Emergency Communications
• 5:15 p.m., Special Session: • Police
Recommended Budget Presentation . Fire
• 6:30 p.m., Public Hearing to Establish
Maximum FY2025 Property Tax Levy
Monday, April 8, 2024
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 • Information Technology
• Water
• City Attorney's Office • Water & Resource Recovery Center
• City Clerk's Office . Planning
• Public Information Office
• Human Resources
• City Manager's Office Tuesday, April 9, 2024
• City Council . Five Flags Center
• Grand River Center
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 • ImOn Ice Arena
• Transportation Services
• Health Services . Engineering
• Carnegie-Stout Public Library
• Dubuque Regional Airport
• Office of Shared Prosperity and Monday, April 15, 2024
Neighborhood Support • Public Hearing to Adopt the Fiscal
• Office of Equity and Human Rights Year 2025 Budget
• Finance/Budget
Thursday, March 28, 2024 Complete details on the FY2025 budget
area available online at
• Housing & Community Development www.citvofdubuque.or_q/FY2025bud_qet.
• Purchase of Services
• Public Works The webpage includes a link to provide
• Economic Development public input or contact City Council, and
links for agendas and videos from each
public meeting.
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