CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS ANNUAL BUDGET FY2022-23

General Fund Description And Summary

Fund Summary

The General Fund is the main fund of the city and is used to account for all revenues and expenditures not accounted for in other designated funds It receives a varied amount of revenues, and it finances a wider range of governmental activities than any other fund. The General Fund is primarily supported by property tax, sales & use tax, franchise fees, license and permit fees, and court fines. General Fund expenditures support the following major functions of the City: public safety, community development, public works, parks, library, and administration.

Statement of General Fund Revenues

Fiscal Year 2022 End of Year Financial Performance

The FY22 Adopted Budget compared to the EOY estimate shows an overall positive change in the amount of $735,413 or an 11% increase in budgeted revenue vs. EOY estimates. This is mostly due to an increase in sales tax revenues collected during the year, which exceeded budgeted revenues by $716,409. The increase in sales tax revenues is mostly due to commercial and industrial sales within the City. Sales tax forecasting for FY23 is equally positive with budgeted sales tax revenue and projections to increase by 12%. The industrial and commercial sales tax collections continue to rise year over year due to the construction industry and especially where electrical and plumbing suppliers are concerned.

Fiscal Year 2023 Budget

For the Fiscal Year 2023, total revenues for the General Fund are budgeted at $8.4 million. That is an increase of 11% over FY22 end of year estimates. The main reason for the increase is an increase of 11% in certified property values and a projected 12% increase in sales tax revenue.

Statement of General Fund Expenditures

Fiscal Year 2022 End of Year Financial Performance

End of Year (EOY) estimates for the General Fund Expenditures are 3.5% higher than the original budgeted numbers. This is mostly due to the increase in overtime hours in public safety and an extra pay period that had to be accrued to FY22. General fund balance remains strong at year end at $4,918,360 which represents 65% of estimated expenditures. Current City policy requires a 25% fund balance.

Fiscal Year 2023 Budgeted Expenditures

For the FY 2023, the total budgeted expenditures are $ 8,716,929 or a 15% increase in expenditures as compared to FY 2022. The main budgetary items are a 5% salary increase to all civilian personnel and a 15% increase and adjustment to the STEP plan to all sworn public safety to keep the City competitive for public safety salaries as compared to surrounding cities. The General Fund also created three new positions for FY23:

Assistant to City Manager Dept. 12 Administration (funding shared with Water/Sewer Fund)

Parks Maintenance Tech Dept. 19 Parks Grounds (funding shared with RHDC)

Full time Custodian Dept. 30 Shared Services (funding shared with LINK Fund)

Transfers out to other funds total $2,860,491 are due to the creation of the new Strategic Initiative Fund ($2.4M) and other transfers out as shown below:

Fund balances at the end of FY2023 are projected to be $2,659,203 or 31% of budgeted expenditures. This is well above the 25% requirement per city policy.

General Fund Departments

 MUNICIPAL COURT

 ADMINISTRATION

 POLICE

 FIRE

 STREETS

 LIBRARY

 PARKS AND RECREATION

 PARKS - GROUNDS

 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

 ANIMAL CONTROL

 LEGISLATIVE

 SHARED SERVICES

Mission Statement

The mission of the Richland Hills Municipal Court is to provide equal and impartial justice under the law; and to ensure that all defendants are treated in a professional, courteous, and efficient manner.

FY 2021-2022 Accomplishments

 Collected $406,931 in fines/court costs

 Filed 2,274 new cases; disposed 2,475 cases

 Issued 1,828 warrants; cleared 1,404 warrants

 Transitioned court operations from a remote environment back to an in-person environment

 Eliminated the backlog of cases due to COVID-19

 All required training completed by staff

 Completed destruction of closed cases filed prior to October 2021

 Significantly reduced collection cases by age purging, dismissing, and re-working cases

FY 2022-2023 Objectives

 Implement Tyler Payments merchant processing and reducing credit card fee expense

 All staff to complete required training

 Marshal to complete warrant audit

The Administration department consists of the City Manager’s Office (CMO), Human Resources and the Finance department Mission statements for each of the departments are below. Goals and accomplishments and staffing grids are presented as a whole department

Mission Statement-City Manager’s Office

The City Manager serves under the direction of the City Council and is responsible for making recommendations to the Council regarding programs and policies and developing methods to ensure an effective and efficient operation of City services. The City Manager’s Office is responsible for the following core services:

• Facilitate good governance and provide strategic leadership to the municipal organization

• Ensure a strong and sustainable financial condition for the City

• Promote citizen involvement and governmental transparency

• Develop a high performance organization

• Create an employee value proposition that supports the City's mission and strategic goals

Mission Statement-Human Resources

The City of Richland Hills Human Resources department is deeply committed to providing quality services to the community; creating a culture of professionalism, respect, dignity, and trust; and promoting honesty, integrity, commitment, and teamwork.

Mission Statement-Finance Department

The mission of the Finance department is to maintain the financial integrity of the City and to provide sound financial management and policies to internal as well as external customers and residents of the City of Richland Hills.

Director of Finance and Administration Svcs

Accounts Payable Tech (P/T)

Administration

FY 2021-2022 Accomplishments

 Successfully completed the implementation of new STEP program for sworn public safety personnel

 Successfully completed the new implementation of new pay plan for non-sworn personnel

 Awarded the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) “Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting” for the 11th consecutive year

 Achieved an unmodified (“clean”) opinion on the financial statements and single audit

 Implemented 50/50 benefits match for all dependent health insurance plans

 Maintained over 25% of fund balances in all funds

 Implemented and deployed “Employee Navigator” self-service portal for employees’ onboarding, open enrollments and updating employees’ files

 Begin design of new City website

 Begin City branding project

FY 2022-2023 Objectives

 Conduct new compensation plan study

 Issue RFP for new City-wide software (ERP)

 Begin implementation of new City-wide software (ERP)

 Award new bank depository contract to increase investment revenues

 Compile a comprehensive budget book/document and publish to the web

 Submit new budget book to GFOA for award

 Receive a “clean” audit for FY 2022

 Maintain high level of financial reporting to obtain the GFOA award for “Excellence in Financial Reporting” for FY 2022

 Maximize the City’s return on investments in accordance with adopted investment policies

 Complete City branding project and complete implementation

 Complete and implement new city website design

(Employee event-Food Truck Day)

Police

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide quality police services through partnerships with the community; to protect constitutional rights through ethical decision-making and to strive to provide leadership to the police profession because we believe in the dignity and worth of all people.

FY 2021-2022 Accomplishments

 Community Service Unit relaunched the Citizen Police Academy program and graduated Class #12.

 Several other community programs continued to grow such as Neighborhood Crime Watch, Texas Night Out, Police Week and CAPTURE (Citizens and Police Together Utilizing Resource Evidence).

 Continued management of the new Enterprise Fleet Management Program with the initial rollout of new vehicles in 2022.

 Hiring and recruiting efforts resulted in all positions being filled at the end of 2022

 Continued professional development of staff to include a graduate from ILEA

FY 2022-2023 Objectives

 Increase proactive traffic enforcement to reduce traffic collisions.

 Reduce property crimes by increasing proactive enforcement efforts

 Increase community engagement by focusing on community programming initiatives

 Develop community awareness on illegal narcotic activity and increase citizen reporting for enforcement

 Identify and reduce narcotic-related crime through enforcement and deterrence efforts

 Collaborate with local, county, state and federal partners to address crime-concerns and develop enforcement actions

 Enhance evidence-based policing through utilization of obtainable advanced technology

 Increase directed traffic enforcement to address and reduce citizen concerns

 Identify and reduce homeless-related concerns by partnering with local outreach programs

 Increase mental health outreach and social programming in collaboration with the Crisis Support Unit

 Address property/evidence storage intake and release by 40%

 Streamline Records Unit processing by using available technology resources

 Enhance citizen reporting process by creating online form reporting

 Enhance sex offender monitoring and accountability efforts using proactive measures

 Improve Animal Services functionality and citizen delivery of service by renovating existing space.

 Increase Animal Services proactive enforcement and education with the community.

 Increase citizen volunteer participation by community engagement and recruiting

 Seek re-accreditation through the Texas Police Chief’s Accreditation Program by maintaining and enhancing existing standards

 Enhance criminal investigation solvability and service delivery by increased citizen follow-up, enhanced technology and collaboration with area agencies