2013 12 Gem Lake News - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 Preliminary versus Final Budgets State law requires cities to submit preliminary budgets to their county well before the end of the year, so preliminary notices can be sent to residents, outlining what their property taxes might be for the year ahead. Because the final budgets cannot, by state law, go any higher than the preliminary budget submitted, most cities have to plan in a little "wiggle room" as they finalize figures for the year ahead. It is not uncommon, especially in Gem Lake, for the final budget to be smaller than the preliminary one. For instance, the preliminary budget for Gem Lake for the year ahead called for a General Fund Budget that was significantly higher. The reductions between the preliminary and the final budget resulted when it became possible to get more accurate information on things like the fire and police contracts for the year ahead. However, the reductions in the tax levy request and the total budget have come as a result of two reasons. First, there was "a careful process involved in refining all the budget numbers between preliminary and final budgets, in most cases resulting in lower numbers," according to Gem Lake Mayor Bob Uzpen. "We have worked hard to keep the budget in line and the expenses as low as possible." The second reason the final budget and tax levy request is lower that the preliminary is that Gem Lake is funding a certain amount of next year's operating expenses from reserves that it has on hand. This is called deficit budgeting and will result in $84,117 being taken out of Gem Lake reserves and used to fund general operations of the city. Budget Categories The main categories of the Gem Lake budget are the Debt Service Fund, the Capital Improvement Budget, the Enterprise Fund, and the General Operating Fund. The Debt Service Fund pays for the bond on Heritage Hall. The budget for this fund $48,505, virtually unchanged from 2013. This fund pays for the outstanding bond on Heritage Hall. The Capital Improvement Budget covers road and infrastructure improvements needed in the year ahead Final Budget for 2014 Approved (continued from page one) For 2014, the budget is this category will be $0. No improvements are planned for the year ahead. The largest portion of the budget is the General Operating Fund, which accounts for the operation of the city, such as public safety, public works and general government. Due to tight budgeting and careful financial management, all categories within the general fund will stay virtually the same as the 2013 final budget, with only a 1.54% increase, as stated earlier in the article. The following information is a break down each sub-category within the General Operating Fund, and how it compares to last year. T he general government category of expenses is increasing 2.84% over last year, and amounts to $162,491.The public safety category is going down by .80% over last year, and is expected to amount to $111,092. The public works portion of the General Fund Budget is decreasing by 2.9% as compared to 2013 and is expected to amount to $42,550. In terms of expenditures in the total budget, 55.5% goes to General Fund expense, 9.15% is Enterprise Fund expense, 8.07% is Capital Improvement and 26.93% is Debt Service. (continued on page 5)