Fort Walton Beach — Fiscal Year 2019-20 Adopted Budget — reading text

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Preparation of this budget would not have been possible without the efficient and dedicated services of Finance Director, Brandy Ferris and Carol Godwin, Budget & Grants 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, Michael D. Beedie, City Manager City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 10 City Manager’s Budget Message The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) presented a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award to the City of Fort Walton Beach, Florida for its annual budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2017. In order to receive this award, a governmental unit must publish a budget document that meets program criteria as a policy document, as an operations guide, as a financial plan, and as a communication device. This award is valid for a period of one year only. We believe our current budget continues to conform to program requirements, and we are submitting it to GFOA to determine its eligibility for another award. City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 11 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 goals, and identifies the short and long-term impact programs, services, and capital improvements will have on the City’s operations and finances. Financial Plan – The budget outlines the financial structure and operational changes required for financial stability, including the capital improvements program and debt management information. Operations Guide – The budget provides direction to departments by identifying the relationships between organizational units and programs, identifying the workforce and historical data on operations, identifying the impact of capital spending, and establishing measurable performance goals and objectives for managers to evaluate the effectiveness of their organization. Communication Device – The budget is presented in a format that is easily understood through the use of charts and graphs, icons, statistical information, and narrative descriptions. The budget is a financial operational plan estimating expenditures for a given period and the proposed means to finance those objectives. The State of Florida requires municipalities to prepare af balanced h f budget, whereby sufficient e etm resources Mb must be identified to fund programs and sd M City of Fort Walton Beach, FL There are basically three 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 permanent.  Proprietary Funds – account for activities similar to 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 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  Sanitation Fund – garbage, 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 13  Accounting Law Law Department/ General Enf. Enf. FBC CDBG CRA Utilities Sanitation Stormwater Division Trust Train City Council √ City Manager √ Information Tech √ General Human Resources √ Gov’t Risk Management √ City Clerk √ $3.3M Finance √ Purchasing √ Fleet √ Facilities √ Public Safety Police √ √ √ √ $12.1M Fire √ Recreation √ Recreation Parks/ROW √ Services Golf Club √ Operations $6.4M Library √ Museum √ Cemetery √ Growth Engineering √ Management Planning/Zoning √ Bldg Insp/Permits √ $895K Code Enforcement √ Fleet √ Facilities √ Streets √ Public Customer Services √ Works & Utility Services √ Utility Services Water Operations √ Water Distribution √ $19.0M 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. In order to provide City Council and citizens with a well-rounded presentation of each department, the following elements are presented in the annual budget: organizational chart, revenues & expenditures, mission, description, goals & objectives, and accomplishments. The performance metrics reflect an operational plan and demonstrate how dollars and cents are translated into tangible returns for the citizens. BUDGET BASIS Annual appropriated budgets are adopted by resolution for all governmental and proprietary funds. The City is not legally required to budget for proprietary or fiduciary funds and those budgets are not included in the City’s audited financial statements. The basis of accounting used for purposes City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 14 of financial reporting in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) is not the same basis used in preparing the budget document. All funds are budgeted on a cash basis. In GAAP financial statements, however, governmental funds use the modified accrual basis of accounting and proprietary funds use the accrual basis of accounting. During the year, the City’s accounting system is maintained on the same basis as the adopted budget, which enables department budgets to be easily monitored through the accounting system. The major difference between the budget and GAAP for governmental funds is that certain expenditures (e.g. compensated absences and depreciation) are not recognized for budgetary purposes, but are recorded in the accounting system at year-end. For enterprise funds, the