City Council Agenda and Packet 2018 01 23 SP

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Louisville COLORADO • S1NC N ; CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION SUBJECT: DATE: 2019/2020 BIENNIAL BUDGET PROCESS AND FORMAT JANUARY 23, 2018 PRESENTED BY: HEATHER BALSER, CITY MANAGER KEVIN WATSON, FINANCE DIRECTOR EMILY HOGAN, ASSISTANT TO THE CITY MANAGER SUMMARY: In 2016, City Council adopted the first biennial budget for 2017-2018 along with the 2017-2021 Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). This was also the first time the budget was organized into 10 program areas and 38 sub -programs. The intent of these changes was to reduce staff time dedicated to the budget on an annual basis, to make it easier for the public to understand where the City invests their taxes and fees to provide services, and for City Council to evaluate how efficiently and effectively the City uses those resources to achieve the objectives of each sub -program. Both years of the first biennial budget have now been approved by City Council and staff would like to evaluate the process and format and see if there is an opportunity for improvements. Staff found that the process for the biennial budget did in fact reduce staff time spent preparing and updating the operational and capital budgets for 2018. City Council reviewed the proposed CIP and revenue assumptions in June, consolidated it with operational expenses in September, and adopted the recommended budget in November. Additionally, there were a number of financial or budgetary issues raised throughout 2017 that required direction from City Council. Staff recommends creating an annual budget process to address such issues that are likely to be raised again in future years as the biennial budget continues. Attached is a draft budget calendar and discussion topics to show what the biennial budget process could look like for City Council in 2018 regarding the proposed 2019-2020 budget: January 16th — Review 2018 City Council Work Plan January 23rd — Review biennial budget process, format and calendar and discuss additional financial/budgetary information requested February 20th — Open for future discussion topic March 20th — Evaluate City's programs, goals and key performance indicators April 17th — Open for future discussion topic May 15th — Open for future discussion topic June 12th — Review CIP requests and revenue update July 17th — Evaluate City's financial policies and cost recovery/fee structure for Recreation Center and golf CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION 2