Title
Subject: Operating Budget Policy
From: Financial Services Agency
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution regarding the City of Oakland's Policy on Balanced Budgets
Body
(FFICE -HE CIT Y CLERK
CITY OF OAKLAND L
A GEiVDA REPORT
2003 JUN 1 2 PM 5: 0 6
TO: Office of the City Manager
ATTN: Robert C. Bobb
FROM: Budaet Office
DATE: June 24, 2003
RE: Adoption of Financial Policy on Balanced Budgets
SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to propose a formal financial policy requiring that the City Council
always adopt a balanced budg-et. It is a follow up to an informational report presented to the Council
on February 18, 2003). That report presented the recommendations of the Moving Oak-land Forward
(MOF) Team #4A, on the adoption of a comprehensive set of financial policies by the City. The
Council requested that staff provide more detailed analysis and recommendations re.-arding each
proposed policy; this report is a response to that Council request.
FISCAL IMPACT
There would be no direct fiscal impact from implementing this policy. If adopted and implemented.
the policy will ensure that the City always has a balanced budget in place. A requirement to have a
balanced budget in place is likely to help ensure that the annual cost of services provided by the City
does not exceed the annual amount of resources received by the City.
BACKGROUND
The City currently does not have a formal policy requiring balanced budgets, or defining what
constitutes a balanced budget.
Team 94A of Moving Oakland Fonvard was established to review and make recommendations
regarding- the City's financial policies. One of Team #4A's firidinggs was that the City's current
financial policies are not consolidated under one authority, and cannot be found in a single location:
some are Council-adopted, some are reflected within Administrative Instructions, and others are
followed in practice but lack formal authority.
In September 2002, Tearn 44A p...
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