Public Works Budget

General Information
Operating Budget
Services
Capital Budget
Operating Budget Process

General Information

The budget that the Public Works Department is responsible for can be broken down into two main categories–operating and capital. The operating budget is used to provide direct services to community members–patching a pothole, fixing a water line break, or treating wastewater. The capital budget is for projects that add to or enhance the City's infrastructure–building streets, expanding a water plant or replacing pipelines.

Operating Budget

The Public Works Department provides a wide variety of services that directly impact community members every day. We have the largest budget in the City, with activity in ten of the City’s operating funds. Specific services for each fund are shown below, along with the major source of revenue for the fund.

Services

Capital Budget

This budget can fluctuate widely from year to year depending on the current and projected needs of the infrastructure. Public Works’ involvement in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is twofold. We administer the five-year planning document and provide the design and construction management for the majority of CIP projects.

Operating Budget Process

Every year in November, the Public Works Department begins the process to create a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in July. It starts with each supervisor building a budget for their program areas from the ground up in each of six categories–Personal Services, Materials and Supplies, Contractual Services, Utility and Overhead, Training and Conference, and Capital Outlay. These proposed budgets must meet the needs of the program area, be in line with the work group’s business plan and comply with the City-mandated guidelines for budget increases over the previous fiscal year (traditionally 5% on personal services and 2% on non-personal services).

The supervisor’s budget is then submitted to their division manager. The Division Manager review is focused on the competing program budgets submitted for the division in each fund. Finding the balance between program areas to meet shifting priorities is the main objective of this review. Changes are made at this level before the proposed budgets are submitted to the Department Director for review.

The Department Director reviews the proposed budgets from all divisions in each fund. The proposed numbers are fed into the five-year financial plans to gauge the impacts on fund viability. Proposed budgets that meet all budget parameters and guidelines may still compromise the long-term health of a particular fund. Revisions and adjustments are made to program area budgets to ensure all funds continue to be viable through the five-year planning window.

The department budget is then forwarded to the City Manager and Finance Director for review. After their approval, the Department Director makes a presentation to the Budget Commission highlighting new programs or significant changes. One final approval is needed from the City Council before the budget is finalized.

This whole process takes from November to June, just in time for a new budget year to start in July!