the municipal secretary desktop reference manual - Southwestern ...

THE DO’S AND DON’TS
OF
MUNICIPAL FISCAL PLANNING
Budget/Fiscal Planning Policies
DON'T budget nonexistent revenues
DON'T inflate municipal revenue estimates
DON'T adopt a “once-a-year” budget -- use it throughout the year
DON'T fail to budget for the repayment of short and long term debt
DON'T omit proposed expenditures in the annual budget
DO prepare and use a working budget
DO follow through on budget cuts by making appropriate revenue and expenditure
adjustments
DO adopt a budget calendar
DO begin your budget preparation long before December 1
DON'T fail to face up to a tax increase when the alternative is postponing needed services
DON'T do long-term borrowing for short-lived facilities
DON'T count too much on grants or other intergovernmental revenues to balance the
budget
DO adequately fund public employee pension trust funds
DO know what the municipality’s long-term debt situation is, and prepare and follow a
repayment schedule
DON'T try to avoid following the Local Government Unit Debt Act when the jurisdiction
borrows money
Budget/Fiscal Planning Policies
DO enact an annual capital budget based on the multi-year capital improvement plan
DO make all capital expenditures in accordance with an adopted capital program and
budget
VIII-5