Budget Process

Beginning April 1st of each fiscal year, the Financial Services department will analyze the current year budget performance, and provide relevant reports to the user departments for them to prepare their budget requests based on current year performance. User departments are given access to the budget preparation module in the City's ERP system. As departments enter their requests per department, per object account, they include itemization descriptions for each requested item under an object code. The City's ERP system populates Personal Services related object codes with amounts driven by the City's actual payroll and personnel systems (also part of the same ERP). "What if" factors and scenarios can be incorporated into the personnel requests.

Likewise, Financial Services is preparing revenue estimates based on models and information available as of the month of April and onward to better project budgetary shortfalls or surpluses. State revenues are estimated or frozen until provided by the State's revenue conference committee.

Department requests are finalized and then departments are locked out of making additional changes. Financial Services reviews these requests for errors, miscoding, and inclusion of items not requested by the departments such as General Property/Casualty/Liability insurance and similar items. These requests are then submitted to the City Manager for review, and comparison against the estimated revenues.

The City Manager schedules meetings with each Department Director to review their requests and make possible adjustments, before formulating and submitting the Manager's Recommended Budget to the Commission.

The City Commission and City Manager will schedule several budget workshops and welcome the public to attend and provide feedback for staff when reviewing the requests, status of, and projected appropriations of the proposed budget. These meetings establish capital appropriations for the coming year by prioritizing the requests and available, or highly likely revenue sources.

The City Commission will then hold their official public meetings per the Florida Statutory required TRuth In Millage (TRIM) hearings to allow the public's input on Tentative and Final millages and budget.