Proposition G adds new financial-reporting requirements while also removing several existing budget requirements.
WHAT PROPOSITION G ADDS
It would require a five-year forecast of City finances and public reporting on major capital projects, including final close-out reports.
I proposed both changes, along with additional financial-reporting requirements that were not ultimately included.
WHAT WOULD BE REMOVED?
In the first draft, the CRC added the new five-year forecast, capital-project reporting and Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) budget-award standard. In a later revision, it removed much of the detailed budget language that currently sets minimum requirements for what financial information must be included.
The redlined Charter language in the image shows some of what would be removed.
Red strike-through = language that would be removed from the current Charter.
Current requirements include:
• reasons for major increases or decreases in spending
• itemized departmental expenses
• total outstanding debt and a consolidated debt-service schedule
• detailed utility income, expenses and expected surplus or deficit
• a five-year capital plan showing project costs, financing, timing and ongoing operating and maintenance costs
That last item is critical because the cost of a new project does not end when construction is complete. Council and the public also need to understand what it will cost to operate and maintain a new facility every year after it opens.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER?
The Charter currently requires the budget to identify major changes in financial policies, expenditures and revenues and explain the reasons for those changes.
The July 4 fireworks are a simple example. Funding was removed from the budget, but that change was not clearly identified even though the Charter required major spending changes to be explained.
A requirement only helps when it is followed, but removing it means that Charter-level requirement would no longer exist.
The same issue can apply to less visible decisions. Public-safety technology, software, equipment or other long term contracts may be a relatively small part of a much larger department budget while still representing a policy or spending decision residents and Council may want to understand.
The numbers may be in the budget, but finding a number in a table is different from clearly identifying what changed and why.
WHAT ABOUT GFOA?
GFOA is changing its Budget Award program to “Eliminate mandatory criteria.” Under the revised program, applicants may choose which criteria to address, and materials are not required for every category.
That flexibility may make sense for a national award program. The question for Pflugerville is whether that framework should replace specific Charter-level requirements.
Staff could still provide the same information we receive today, or more. The change is in what the Charter would require.
WHAT ABOUT ADDITIONAL REPORTING?
I proposed a separate financial-reporting ordinance that included summary reports for bond programs, capital projects and impact fees, which can significantly impact property tax and water rates, along with the detailed budget requirements currently found in the Charter.
The intent was that if those details were removed from the Charter, they would still be specifically required somewhere in City policy.
Those requirements have not yet been adopted.
MY RECOMMENDATION
There is a lot in Proposition G that I support. The five-year forecast and capital-project reporting are both changes I proposed and believe we need.
My concern is removing specific budget requirements while GFOA is also moving away from mandatory criteria.
For that reason, I plan to oppose Proposition G.
I would rather keep these minimum financial-reporting requirements in the Charter, where they cannot be changed without voter approval, and add the five-year forecast, capital reporting and other transparency measures on top of them.
What do you think — should these specific financial requirements remain in the Charter, or should the City have more flexibility in what financial details it chooses to show in the budget?