The Annual Budget

City Budgeting

One major responsibility of the Finance Director / City Clerk / Treasurer is to assist the City Manager with developing an annual budget for the City. Budgeting is a logical and prudent way for an individual, business, or government to plan and manage what they do and how they do it, with available resources. 

Budget Process

The City’s budget year officially begins on July 1, although many components of the budgeting process are dynamic and occur throughout the year. The City Commission is brought into the process in December each year, when goals for the coming year are discussed and preliminary financial information is reviewed. A series of budget meetings ultimately results in a City Manager-proposed budget, in balanced form, that is brought to the City Commission for discussion. The City Commission then spends several full days meeting with each city department to discuss their service levels, goals, and budget for the coming year.

Budget Book

The budget book is approximately 200 pages in length, including each department’s section are mission statements, accomplishments from the prior year, and goals for the coming year. Simply put the budget book is a communications device to the community as well as a financial plan for city departments. 

Budget Book Fiscal Year 2023-24