Approved FY2016-2017 Budget
September 21, 2016
Dear Councilors and Partners of Prattville,
This budget is a roadmap for our needs in 2017. This detailed plan, or explanation, lays out the needs of each department and the City as a whole. Just as an aside, if this budget were doubled, our Departments would be able to utilize every penny. We still have many needs in the way of facilities, both improvements to old and creation of new structures, and equipment, improvements to parks, and the city’s infrastructure.
Whereas Daniel Pratt established us 177 years ago, we are now a mechanized, technology-based, service-oriented organization. We walk in the footprints of those who have come before us. We have seen their achievements. We benefit from and utilize some of their investments every day, everything from General Government and Information Technology to Public Safety, Public Works, Quality of Life programs and infrastructure.
We have certain core services to provide. We are, and need to be, ever-evolving, helping to develop our Departments, our valued employees and Partnering with our Governmental friends and colleagues.
We have plans, we have goals, and we have commitments. Some of these are listed inside these documents. These, coupled with new ideas, hard work, dedication and perseverance, have been and will prove to be the tools to continue to move this community forward.
Our revenue, shown in this document, has increased over the past year, but this budget was built off of the previous year’s actuals.
Our financial footprint is firm and we continue to make progress, not only in paying down debt, but also in making capital investments to areas that provide services and infrastructure for this City. There is good debt and bad debt. In this budget, there are multiple opportunities to continue to make good investments and be resolute stewards of taxpayer dollars, which is our first priority.
Over the course of my tenure as Mayor, our budget process has changed from a lump sum to line item and then evolved further with the implementation of our enterprise funds. Rest assured that no matter what process we are using in the future, our Departments are putting the funding to good use. We have been and will continue to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. The return on investment is evident in the services we provide and apparent in the projects we deliver throughout this community.
The cost of doing business is being held to a minimum because of the hard work of Council Committees, dedicated department heads and their determined staff, who have embraced change and continued to work very hard for the citizens of this great City.
In passing this budget, we make another step toward financial/fiscal responsibility and ensuring continued growth opportunities for our Partners of Prattville. A role of government is to provide an environment for private enterprise to flourish, to provide a future for the next generation. The best future to give a child is to help them understand the past.
Please stay connected with us through my office, committees, our City website, and social media so that we may answer questions, gather opinions from you, and keep everyone informed.
We are dedicated to serve.
Sincerely,
Bill Gillespie, Mayor
City of Prattville
334.391.3948
