Citizens Guide to the Budget

Fiscal Years 2004-2005

	Budget at a Glance
	Distinguished Budget Award
	Download or Print Budget

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Citizens Guide to the Budget

Welcome to the Boise City budget. The electronic budget was developed and organized to help you find online information about City finances.

Navigating the Electronic Budget

The electronic City of Boise budget is designed to be a �click and go� experience. You may move through the electronic budget by using the tabs across the top, by going to the Table of Contents, or by stepping through the Step-by-Step User Guide provided below. The pages of the electronic budget contain menu options on left side of the page providing further links to budget detail. Many of the electronic reports provide drill down capabilities by clicking on summary information. The top menu stays the same through out enabling quick navigation of the entire budget.

To help you keep track of where you are in the document, �bread crumbs� (a series of links that show you the navigation sequence that brought you to the current page) display just below the tabs at the top of the page. To navigate the current budget section quickly, click on any breadcrumb.

You may also choose to Print or download any section of the Electronic Budget by navigating to the Table of Contents or the Help Menu option. For the large sections of the budget, it is recommended that you first right click on the link and save the file to your computer before viewing by selecting "Save Target As".

User Guide to the City of Boise Electronic FY 2004 and 2005 Two Year

The following narrative will guide you through the eight primary Sections of the City of Boise Fiscal Year 2004 and Fiscal Year 2005 Budget. This Step-by-Step guide is intended to provide insight into the budget process and explanation of the budget reports and documentation.

Citizens Guide to the Budget. Active links in the Citizens Guide make it easy to go to sections of the budget in which you are interested. The Budget at a Glance provides a handy overview that is useful to students, boy scouts and others interested in a quick picture of the City�s finances in the Two Year Budget (2YB).

Policies and Policy Actions. The budget is a key component of the strategic plan. It reflects core values and goals consistent with the City�s Mission Statement, which is an extract from the City�s Strategic Plan

The Mayor directs preparation of the budget and transmits the Mayor�s budget recommendations and a more detailed Mayor�s Recommended Actions for a structurally balanced operating and capital facilities two year budget. The City Council formally reviews the Mayor�s recommendations, budget requests from departments and agencies, along with background financial information through budget workshops. At the completion of the budget workshops, the City Council adopts the Preliminary Approved Two Year Budget, through specific motions recorded as City Council Actions. The City Council must then hold a Public Hearing. The Notice of Public Hearing contains prior year actuals, current year budget, and the preliminarily proposed budget. After hearing and considering comments and suggestions by participants in the public hearing, the City Council adopts the budget through the Annual Appropriation Ordinance.

Adopted Financial and Budgetary Polices provide the strategic context for the City�s financial and budget systems. Budget proposals and the approved budget are reviewed for consistency with adopted policies.

Note: Because of the significance of the JeffersonWells Forensic Audit of Mayor�s Office spending, reported in March 2003 to the City Council, City budget process and policy review was modified as the FY 2004 and 2005 Two Year Budget was developed.

Six Year Financial Plan. To support the strategic planning for the City�s longer term financial health, the Six Year Financial Plan (6YFP) Update is prepared and reviewed with the City Council. That Long Term Financial Plan is an analysis and policy tool to identify and understand key parameters for budget decisions during the 2YB period and for the ensuing four years. The 6YFP includes a financial Policies Review to identify and modify all policies that should be reviewed and updated in the budget planning process; the Boise Economic Outlook to identify the context for financial activity during the planning period and to report on the accuracy of past forecasts; a Revenue Manual to provide specific information about the City�s significant revenue sources; a Six Year Financial Projections model to test and analyze the effect of budgetary and financial policy and decisions upon the City�s financial position; and a review of the City�s Debt Strategy, including Boise�s debt capacity.

Adopted Two Year Budget - Financial Summaries. The approved budget by fiscal period (FY 2004 and FY 2005) is provided in a variety of financial schedules and human resource position and full time equivalent summaries for the City as a whole, for individual funds, for departments and agencies, for programs and services, and for capital projects approved and funded in the 2YB. See FY 2004 Adopted Budget Summary-Funds by Category and FY 2004 Adopted Budget Summary-Funds by Service Group for Fiscal Year 2004 Summaries. See FY 2005 Adopted Budget Summary-Funds by Category and FY 2005 Adopted Budget Summary-Funds by Service Group for Fiscal Year 2005 Summaries.

Budget presentations provide a context for budget information and financial results for the City. Budget presentations include revenue and costs amounts actually experienced during the prior two fiscal years (FY 2001 and FY 2002), approved and revised budget amounts for the fiscal year in which the budget was developed (FY 2003), and the two years of the 2YB (FY 2004 and FY 2005.)

	Budget System Components
The numerical presentation of City budget information is organized in pyramidal fashion. High level summaries of the entire City budget are linked to the component fund, department and agency, and service group schedules to allow the reader to view the City�s adopted budget from top to bottom.

Financial reports are provided for operating and capital project budgets and for major revenue and cost categories in order to allow readers to understand the organization and structure of City budgets.

All full time equivalent (FTE) staff positions are shown by department and by fund in the tables Authorized Staffing Levels and Changes in Position Count.

Fund Balance Impacts of the projected and adopted budget plans are shown with explanations of fund balance as it relates to financial position.

Department (and Agency) Budget: Programs and Performance. The main �Department Budgets� page provides two City wide summaries of department budget presentations: a City organization chart, showing an overview of the management and administrative organization of the City and �Department Approved Budget Changes� showing all supplemental budget changes approved by the City Council.

For each department listed, a department overview is provided containing the department�s core mission, trends, and issues and opportunities which are significant in this 2YB presentation, highlights of requests in the 2YB and accomplishments in the current two year budget period are described. A Human Resource Summary is provided for all positions authorized for the department for the prior two year budget period and for the proposed 2YB (expressed in full time equivalencies � �ftes� and organized by major human resource category.)

For each department, the upper left hand menu provides navigation to the Department Organization Chart, to the Budget Office Report, analysis provided to the City Council during budget development sessions in June 2003, and the Service Group Summary, displaying the budget and actual financial information for the prior two fiscal periods (the FY 2002 and FY 2003 Two Year Budget) and for the proposed Two Year Budget (FY 2004 and FY 2005.)

Below the department wide information, Service Group information is presented by fund. Service groups represent �base� (on-going) services provided by the City. Service groups are clusters of �service units,� which are the City�s basic service accounting packages. Each service group is comprised of service units that are managed together to achieve greater efficiency or effectiveness. Each service group report describes service objectives, trends and issues related to group�s services and activities, key progress measures, and resources and full time equivalencies allocated to the service group.

Approved Budget Changes to the department�s FY 2004 or FY 2005 fiscal period budget are shown by a summary schedule. The title of the budget change is a navigable link that takes you to the increase (decrease) request form prepared by the department. The departments prepared �budget balancing alternatives� that provided the Mayor and City Council with options to reduce and increase service levels and to make other adjustments in the budget. Only those alternatives that were approved by the City Council are shown in the department�s Approved Budget Changes folder.

Equipment budgets are based upon maintenance of safe and efficient equipment needed to maintain services. The equipment budgets are developed by Citywide and departmental analysis of needs that are reviewed and approved by the Budget Office, Mayor and City Council. Lists are provided to support long term equipment planning through the six year financial planning window.

Six Year Capital Improvement Plan. Boise uses a six year capital improvement planning process to identify facilities needs, including planned repair, maintenance and replacement of current facilities and planning for construction of new facilities. The capital budget process is a component of the 2YB and the first two years of the 6 year CIP plan are action years that are funded within the 2YB. The Capital Facilities Plan Overview details the analysis and choices within the 6 year plan. Schedules Approved Projects FY 2004 and FY 2005 display each approved project in spreadsheets.

By �clicking� on the title of each project within the approved projects spreadsheets, you may access the detail capital project form that provides information about the priority, objectives, need, costs and resources, and associated operating cost for each individual capital projects. You may also locate the projects on the Project Location Maps and see the schedule of Operating Cost Impacts of Approved CIP Projects.

The Percent for Art schedule shows the allocation associated with each eligible capital project for art and beautification project components. The percent for art program was established by policy and by ordinance to assure that Boise capital projects include community beautification.

The Six Year Capital Plan Summary shows projects throughout the six year capital planning window. Only the first two years are adopted within the 2YB. �Out years� will require action in future 2YB development processes.

The Six Year Equipment Summary shows all proposed and approved equipment by fund and by department. Only the first two years are adopted within the 2YB. �Out years� will require action in future 2YB development processes. The plan allows departments and the City Council to study replacement schedules and funding needs.

Budget Background. The background section provides a variety of contextual and supporting information to help understand the budget. Because the budget changes throughout the fiscal period, the City develops and documents baseline studies and reports that can be used to monitor the key changes in financial information. Access the Background documents from the Table of Contents or the tabs and left side menus.

The City budget is a dynamic plan that is revised throughout the two year period to reflect changing issues and needs. As the budget is implemented, departments and agencies can seek City Council action for changes by bringing requests through the Mayor�s Budget Team..

Budget Process. The legal and procedural process by which Boise develops, adopts and implements the budget is described in the Budget Development Process. A Budget Development Calendar provides deadlines and planning for hearings and document review. The State Budget Law sets the general deadlines and requirements for the budget including setting the property tax. Boise encourages Citizen Input into the Budget in a variety of venues and meetings which are described. Finally, Boise�s Financial Systems are described � policies, procedures, software and databases - that integrate the budget to accounting to reporting.

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