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To: The Mayor and City Council <br />From: Gene Anderson, Interim City Manager <br />Re: Budget Message <br />Date: July 22, 2011 <br />Introduction <br />In accordance with Section 45 of the City of Paris Charter and Chapter 102 of the Texas Local <br />Government Code, I am pleased to present for your consideration the proposed annual budget for <br />fiscal year 2011-2012, beginning October 1, 2011. This budget is intended to serve as a plan of <br />financial operations and the allocation of available resources. <br />The budgetary and accounting policies contained in the budget conform to generally accepted <br />accounting principles (GAAP) as established by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board <br />(GASB). The accounts of the City are organized on the basis of funds and account groups, each <br />of which is considered a separate budgetary and accounting entity. <br />It is no secret that the nation is still struggling to pull itself out of an economic quagmire. <br />Operating within this macroeconomic sphere, Texas, Northeast Texas, and Paris have not been <br />exempt from their own economic problems. In spite of this, I am optimistic that the City of Paris' <br />best days are yet in the future. I want to assure the Council that the staff is eager to be your <br />partner in making Paris a place we can all be proud to call home. <br />While no specific directions were given by the Council for developing the 2011-12 Budget, the <br />following guidelines were used. <br />1. The tax rate would remain at .52 cents per $100 of property value. This rate is down 9.5 <br />cents from the City's highest tax rate since property was required to be valued at 100% of <br />market value: 69.5 cents per $100 of value (2003). Fiscal year 2011-12 will be the fourth <br />consecutive year at this tax rate. <br />2. The department heads were told to submit a base operating budget and to provide a <br />priority ranked list of other items that they wished to be included if funds were available. <br />3. As funding allowed, the tools needed by City employees (equipment and materials) were <br />to be provided. If the City is to be improved and beautified, employees have to be given <br />essential tools to work with. <br />4. To boost morale of all City employees by financially recognizing their hard work over <br />the last eight tough and lean years. Since 2003 when there were 369 full time employees, <br />the City work force has been reduced to its current level of 322 employees. Despite this <br />reduction of 47 employees (12.73%), the City warkforce has continued to provide <br />essentially the same level of services as before the reduction. The Consumer Price Index <br />~h,~- ''A'' - - - 5 <br />