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Fort Walton Beach — Fiscal Year 2022-23 Adopted Budget — reading text
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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
11
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, debt service, and City of Fort Walton Beach
Budgetary Funds
permanent.
Governmental Proprietary
• Proprietary Funds – account for activities Funds Funds
like those often found in the private sector; General Fund Special Revenue
Other
fund types include enterprise and internal
Governmental Enterprise Funds
(Major Fund) Funds
Funds
service funds. Law Enforcement
Trust Fund
Debt Service Fund
Utilities Fund
(Major Fund)
• Fiduciary Funds – account for assets not Law Enforcement
Training Fund
Capital Projects
Fund
Sanitation Fund
(Major Fund)
available to support the government’s Florida Building
programs that are held in a trustee or agent
Stormwater Fund
Code Fund
capacity; fund types include private-purpose
Community
Development
Block Grant Fund
trust, pension and other employee benefit Community
Redevelopment
trust, investment trust, and agency funds. Agency Fund
Beal Memorial
General Fund – Accounts for all financial Cemetery Fund
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
Debt Service Fund – Accounts for the accumulation of resources for, and the payment of, general
long-term debt principal and interest.
Capital Projects Fund – Accounts for financial resources to be used for the acquisition or
construction of major capital facilities, thereby more accurately accounting for a variety of one-
time facility improvements and construction projects.
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
12
Accounting
Law Law
Department/
General Enf. Enf. FBC CDBG CRA Utilities Sanitation Stormwater
Division
Trust Train
City Council √
City Manager √
General Information Tech √
Gov’t
Human Resources √
$7.4M Risk Management √
City Clerk √
Finance √
Public Safety Police √ √ √ √
$15.1M Fire √
Recreation √
Recreation Parks/ROW √
Services Golf Club √
$7.8M Library √
Museum √
Operations
Cemetery √
Growth Growth Mgmt √ √ √
Management Planning/Zoning √
Bldg Insp/Permits √
$5.5M
Code Enforcement √
Fleet √
Facilities √
Streets √
Public Customer Services √
Works & Utility Services √
Utility
Services Water Operations √
Water Distribution √
$20.9M Sewer Operations √
Sewer Collection √
Sanitation √
Stormwater √
DEPARTMENT & DIVISION INFORMATION
A Department is a major administrative segment of the City that indicates overall management
responsibility for an operation or a group of related operations within a functional area (e.g. Police
Department, Recreation & Cultural Services Department). The smallest organizational unit
budgeted is a Division. Each division indicates responsibility for one functional area (e.g. Library
Division within Recreation & Cultural Services Department). When divisions are combined, a
department is formed.
