Fiscal Responsibility

GOAL Promote sustainable and responsible fiscal practices.

Fiscal responsibility encompasses a multitude of factors and variables. We must balance the need for adequate revenues to appropriately maintain and renew our water assets with efforts to minimize costs and maximize performance of those same assets. We should especially seek funding opportunities from sources outside of the City. Budgets should be fiscally responsible and reflect the true costs of providing services, while rates and rate increases should be sensitive to their effects on our community. Long range financial planning is crucial to making wise operational and investment decisions.

FR-1: Create and maintain budgets that support operational needs and adequately invest in infrastructure and water quality.

Initiatives:

1. Provide statistical data in a timely manner that allows stakeholders to make informed and timely operational decisions to increase efficiency and minimize costs. 2. Develop budgets that meet or exceed regulatory obligations, city council fiscal policies, and our current and future needs. 3. Complete a 20 year financial forecast that reflects the actual capital needs and the overall true cost of providing sustainable water, sewer, and stormwater services.

FR-2: Generate adequate revenues to support operational and capital needs.

Initiatives:

1. Develop opportunities and foster partnerships to generate new revenue streams. 2. Seek and support efforts to secure state and federal grant opportunities. 3. Develop an accurate and reliable system to identify and track actual cost of providing services. 4. Implement rates that place the cost of the service with the service provided while being sensitive to needs and affordability issues of our low income households.

FR-3: Operate in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Initiatives:

1. Evaluate and consider life cycle cost and performance of major assets during project development. 2. Continuously evaluate options to determine the most cost effective means of service delivery. 3. Renew or replace assets at the optimal time to minimize overall life cycle costs.