What is Plano's total budget?

The total budget for the City of Plano for FY 2007-08 is $388,462,408.  This includes Operating Budget and CIP Budget.

What is Plano's total General Fund Budget?

The General Fund Budget for the City of Plano is $203,326,130.

What is Plano's current Ad Valorem tax rate?  Break down by funds.

The current ad valorem tax rate is:

47.35 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

General Fund:                            32.10 cents

General Obligation Debt Fund:     15.25 cents

Total:                                         47.35 cents

What is Ad Valorem?

A tax computed from the assessed valuation of land and improvements.

What is the Sales Tax rate in Plano?

8.25%

What portion of the Sales Tax does the City of Plano receive?

1% of the receipts from retail sales of taxable items.

How is the budget developed?

See Budget Process

What is Operating Budget?

Plans of current expenditures and the proposed means of financing them.  The annual operating budget is the primary means by which most of the financing, acquisition, spending, and service delivery activities of the City are controlled.  The use of annual operating budgets is required by State law.

What is CIP?

The CIP or Community Investment Program is a 5-year financial plan which matches the City's projected financial resources dedicated to capital spending with the City's highest priority capital needs.

How is the CIP developed?

The City of Plano maintains a separate five-year Community Investment Program categorized as follows:  General Obligation CIP (these projects include Municipal Facilities, Park Improvements, and Street Improvements), Water and Sewer CIP, Park Fee Program, Municipal Drainage CIP, DART Local Assistance/Congestion Management Program, and Capital Reserve.

Individual residents and groups were invited to propose CIP projects for inclusion in the 1998 and the 2001 Referendum.  City Council reviewed and discussed proposed projects at work sessions and public hearings.  A General Obligation Bond Referendum in the amount of $80,351,000 was held on May 2, 1998.  The ballot included nine propositions and all were approved.  On May 5, 2001, voters approved eight out of nine propositions totaling $112,415,000 in new authority.

Currently, the City is preparing for another General Obligation Bond Referendum to be held in May 2005. At this time, the number of propositions and the total dollar amount is undetermined.

Based on the bond authority approved by the citizens through the bond elections, a multi-year Community Investment Program document is prepared each year to update the priorities of the Community Investment plan and to ensure that financing can be supplied, and its effect on the current and future ad valorem tax rate identified.

What revenue sources are used to finance CIP?

• General Obligation CIP - General Obligation improvements are funded by a portion of the ad valorem tax rate.  These projects include Municipal Facilities, Park Improvements, and Street Improvements. Financing for the annual program is provided by the "cash flow" approach, whereby bonds are sold each year to generate enough cash to pay the actual expenditures during the year for both existing and new projects.  This approach provides the most efficient use of the public tax dollars by allowing multi-year projects to be initiated without issuing bonds for the full cost of the projects, and by keeping bond sales down to only the estimated cash outlay requirements.

• Water and Sewer CIP - the water and sewer projects are based on the pay-as-you-go financing method, where the annual funds necessary for projects are transferred from the Water and Sewer Operating fund, and are included in the overall rates charged to customers.  Water and Sewer projects were funded by revenue bonds prior to 1994 and currently one issue totaling $3.9 million remains outstanding.

• Park Fee Program - developer fees are used to provide revenue for neighborhood park development.

• Municipal Drainage CIP - projects are funded through revenue bonds which are supported directly from drainage revenues.

• DART Local Assistance/Congestion Management Program - funds are reimbursed by Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

• Capital Reserve - an annual transfer is made from Operating Funds for general obligation rehabilitation and repair projects.

What are General Obligation Bonds?

General Obligation (G.O.) Bonds are debt instruments much like a house mortgage, generally for a period of 20 years.  The City identifies a major project (e.g. a fire station) or several similar projects (e.g. five road intersections) and determines that to complete the project(s) in a timely manner a debt issuance is needed.  (The City does not maintain large amounts of cash to finance these larger capital projects.)

What is an Enterprise Fund?

A fund established to account for operations that are financed and operated in a manner similar to private business enterprises - where the intent of the governing body is that the costs of providing goods or services to the general public on a continuing basis be financed or recovered primarily through user charges.

What is an Internal Service Fund?

A fund used to account for the financing of goods or services provided by one City department or cost center to other departments, on a cost-reimbursement basis.

What is Capital Outlay?

An expenditure which results in the acquisition of or addition to fixed assets, and meets these criteria:  has an anticipated useful life of more than one year; can be permanently identified as an individual unit of property; belongs to one of the following categories:  Land, Buildings, Structures & Improvements, Equipment; constitutes a tangible, permanent addition to the value of City assets; cost generally exceeds at least $5,000; does not constitute repair or maintenance; and, is not readily susceptible to loss.

What is the City of Plano's fiscal year?

A twelve-month period designated as the operating year for accounting and budgeting purposes in an organization.  The City of Plano has specified October 1 to September 30 as its fiscal year.

Where can I get a copy of City of Plano budget?

Copies of the budget books are available for viewing in the City's five public libraries or contact the Budget & Research Department.