Fort Walton Beach — Fiscal Year 2023-24 Adopted Budget — reading text

b. Employee defined benefit pension – as previously discussed, for a total impact of $3.5M. 3. Computer replacements are budgeted at a total cost of $162K; reference the Table of Contents for detail location of the FY 2023-24 IT replacement schedule, which details each replacement. City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 10 City Manager’s Budget Message 4. The following Capital Improvement Programs (CIPs) are budgeted at a total cost of $2.95M. Please reference the Table of Contents for location of more detailed information for CIPs. a. General Fund – street resurfacing, sidewalk improvements, Liza Jackson Park design, Jet/Holmes pre-fab restroom, Ferry Park pickleball courts, and Intersection/Pedestrian Improvements. b. Utilities Fund – Water Line Replacement, Sewer Grouting and Lining, Potable Well No. 3 Rehab, Lift Station No. 2 Rehab, and Stormwater Improvements Martisa. 5. Certain capital improvement projects, grants, and/or purchases that were authorized, budgeted, and appropriated by City Council in a prior fiscal year but are incomplete as of September 30th are carried forward into the new fiscal year. These special projects and purchase order encumbrances are identified in the budget resolution at the end of the document. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Preparation of this budget would not have been possible without the resiliency and dedication of the Finance Department Staff, including Nicole Nabors, Finance Director, and Carol Godwin, Budget Analyst. I would like to express my appreciation to all Department Directors and staff who assisted and contributed to the preparation of this budget. I would also like to thank the Mayor and City Council for their commitment to conducting the financial operations of the City of Fort Walton Beach in a responsible and progressive manner. Sincerely, Jeff Peters City Manager City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 11 City Manager’s Budget Message City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 12 Budget Overview The fundamental purpose of the City’s budget is to link what City Council wants to accomplish for the community with the resources necessary to do so. As such, the budget offers more than just financial elements – it presents an overview of the City's overall operations. This document is intended to provide City Council and our citizens with a plan addressing financial, operational, and policy issues. The budget serves as a: Policy Document – The budget presents financial policies, addresses Strategic Plan The City’s Business is SERVICE goals, and identifies the short and long-term We are committed to providing quality service to impact programs, services, and capital our community in ways that are responsive and improvements will have on the City’s caring by working together to serve our residents. operations and finances. We believe that the success of our organization depends upon the teamwork, mutual trust, and honesty Financial Plan – The budget outlines the achieved through our commitment to the following financial structure and operational changes Core Values: required for financial stability, including the  Integrity: we will conduct ourselves in an honest, capital improvements program and debt trustworthy, and ethical manner. management information.  Accountability: we will take full responsibility for our actions, resources, and attitudes. Operations Guide – The budget provides direction to departments by identifying the  Teamwork: we will work together to provide quality services. relationships between organizational units and  Customer Service: we will be professional, use programs, identifying the workforce and all available resources, and strive to meet the needs historical data on operations, identifying the of our customers. impact of capital spending, and establishing  Continual Improvement: we will promote a measurable performance goals and objectives culture that seeks to better our organization. for managers to evaluate the effectiveness of their organization. Communication Device – The budget is presented in a format that is easily understood using charts and graphs, icons, statistical information, and narrative descriptions. The budget is a financial operational plan estimating expenditure for a given period and the proposed means to finance those objectives. The State of Florida requires municipalities to prepare a balanced budget, whereby enough resources must be identified to fund programs and services. The fiscal year for all Florida cities begins October 1st and ends September 30th. The sheer volume and complexity of information can make the budget an imposing document. The reader should always keep in mind that this document answers two core questions: “Where is the City of Fort Walton Beach’s money coming from?” and “How will that money be used?” FUND STRUCTURE An important concept in governmental accounting and budgeting is the division of the budget into categories called funds. Funds are separate fiscal accounting entities. Budgeting and accounting for revenues and expenditures in this manner is called fund accounting. Fund accounting allows a government to budget and account for revenues and expenditures restricted by law or policy. Governments may use any number of individual funds in their financial reporting; however, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) require all these individual funds to be aggregated into specified fund types. Any fund constituting 10% or more of the appropriated budget is considered a “major” fund. City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 13 There are basically three (3) groups of funds in governmental accounting:  Governmental Funds – account for activities supported by taxes, grants, and similar resources and include most governmental functions; fund types include general, special revenue, capital projects, and permanent.  Proprietary Funds – account for activities like those often found in the private sector; fund types include enterprise and internal service funds.  Fiduciary Funds – account for assets not available to support the government’s programs that are held in a trustee or agent capacity; fund types include private- purpose trust, pension and other employee benefit trust, investment trust, and agency funds. General Fund – Accounts for all financial resources not accounted for in other funds (e.g. human resources, finance, police, fire, recreation, code enforcement, streets). Special Revenue Funds – Accounts for the proceeds of specific revenue sources that are legally restricted to expenditures for specific purposes.  Law Enforcement Trust Fund – grants, forfeitures  Law Enforcement Training Fund – traffic fines  Florida Building Code Fund – building permit & inspection fees  Community Development Block Grant – entitlement grant  Community Redevelopment Agency – tax increment financing (i.e. ad valorem taxes)  Beal Memorial Cemetery Perpetual Fund – lot, crypt, and niche sales Enterprise Funds – Account for operations that are financed and operated in a manner similar to a private business – where the intent of the governing body is that the cost (expenses, including depreciation) of providing the services to the public on a continuing basis be financed and recovered primarily through user charges. Related capital projects are accounted for in the individual enterprise funds.  Utilities Fund – water, sewer, reclaimed water  Sanitation Fund – solid waste, recycling, yard waste  Stormwater – stormwater A department may have multiple divisions or be financed by multiple funds. The chart below illustrates the relationship between the City’s fund financial structure (e.g. accounting) and the City’s departments (e.g. operations). City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 14  Accounting Law Law Department/ General Enf. Enf. FBC CDBG CRA Utilities Sanitation Stormwater Division Trust Train City Council ¥ City Manager/PIO ¥ General Information Tech ¥ Gov’t Human Resources ¥ $9.0M Risk Management ¥ City Clerk ¥ Finance ¥ Public Safety Police ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ $16.0M Fire ¥ Recreation ¥ Recreation Parks/ROW ¥ Services Golf Club ¥ $7.3M Library ¥ Museum ¥ Operations Cemetery ¥ Growth Growth Mgmt ¥ ¥ ¥ Management Planning/Zoning ¥ Bldg Insp/Permits ¥ $4.5M Code Enforcement ¥ Fleet ¥ Facilities ¥ Streets ¥ Public Customer Services ¥ Works & Utility Services ¥ Utility Services Water Operations ¥ Water Distribution ¥ $19.7M Sewer Operations ¥ Sewer Collection ¥ Sanitation ¥ Stormwater ¥ DEPARTMENT & DIVISION INFORMATION A