L I V E

W O R K
P L AY
R E T I R E

FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN

FISCAL YEARS 2019-2024

Adopted: February 12, 2019

145
Each year the Boulder City Finance Department prepares a Five-Year Financial Plan in
accordance with the requirements of Title 1, Chapter 9 – Financial Administration – of the
Boulder City Municipal Code. The purpose of the Five-Year Plan is to ensure that the City
will have the necessary resources available to meets its operational mission, which is:

The City of Boulder’s mission is to deliver

outstanding services to enhance the
quality of life within our community,
our economic vitality, and the safety of
those who reside, work in, visit, or travel
through our community.*

To achieve that mission, the City recently updated its’ Strategic Plan to develop goals and
strategies. The first goal in that Plan calls for Boulder City to “Achieve Prudent Financial
Stewardship.” This Financial Plan has been developed around the listed strategies in the
Strategic Plan to achieve this goal.

The requirement for an annual five-year plan arose during the great recession in the early
2000’s. City Finances, while not as dire as other Southern Nevada local governments, did
require belt tightening, cancellation of contractually obligated compensation increases to its
employees, and the perpetual hold on new capital projects and equipment purchases. The
FINANCIAL PLAN

City had a large amount of debt and operational expenses that were a challenge to fund
with the decreasing revenue stream. The five-year plan provided strategies for the City to
weather the recession storm, allow for the retention of a dedicated workforce, and meeting
its financial obligations without impact to its Bond rating and other financial measurements.

We are pleased to tell you that the City’s financial position has improved dramatically.
Our revenue stream has been diversified, the City is able to replace employees lost
during hiring freezes, all but one debt has been retired, and future revenue forecasts are
optimistic. This plan provides a roadmap to continue along this sound financial pathway.

Diane Pelletier
Finance Director

*Boulder City Strategic Plan

2
146
Five-Year Financial Plan Projection
General Fund Revenue History and Forecast
FY14 through FY24

$48.5M
$50,000,000

$39.1M
$45,000,000

$38.8M
$38.6M
$38.3M

$38.2M
$37.4M
$36.4M

$36.3M
$36.6M
$35.8M

$35.9M
$35.3M
$34.7M
$40,000,000

$34.6M
$34.3M
$33.3M
$31.9M

$31.7M

$31.2M
$30.1M

$29.9M
$35,000,000

$30,000,000

$25,000,000

$20,000,000

$15,000,000

$10,000,000

$5,000,000

$0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019* 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Revenues Expenditures GF CIP Expenditures** Unassigned Fund Balance

Notes on Chart:
* FY2020 is currently being prepared. The numbers shown are estimated, as are outlying years in the ligher shading.
** GF Capital Improvement Expenditures shown are only those projects that were/are funded directly from general fund dollars. Other funding
sources make up the balance of the City’s capital improvement program.
*** The required 20% operating fund balance and $2M emergency capital reserves are maintained throughout the 5 year projection

FINANCIAL PLAN
How are the revenue and expense history and forecast prepared?
The historical data for revenues and expenses were taken from the City’s audited financial reports,
known as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (“CAFR”) for fiscal years 2014 through 2018.
These documents are available on the City’s website.

Revenue Assumptions
The revenue forecasts for Fiscal Years 2020 through 2024 were projected using the following
assumptions:

• C-Tax collections forecasted at a 4% rate, actual 5-year trend is at 5.25%.

• Calculated rents for leased properties uses the currently leased/optioned lands and their
scheduled increases.
• Property Tax forecast is forecast at a 2.5% growth (State law limits how fast it can increase).
• Building Permit revenue forecast does not include potential large building permit fee collections
associated with solar developments or tract home developments. For forecast purposes, the
revenue growth assumes the five-year average (without solar permit fees) going forward.
• Revenues for Fines and Forfeitures assumes a flat collection rate, with no projected increase.

Expenditure Assumptions
Expenditure forecast assumes an average annual growth rate of 3%.
• Labor costs are estimated to increase by 4% per year through FY21 to take into account labor
contracts and new positions as necessary to implement the recently adopted strategic plan,
then at 3% through FY24.
• All other expenses are projected to increase 2% annually.

3
147
Strategic Plan Goals Included in 5-Year Plan
In the fall of 2018, Boulder City adopted an update to its Strategic Plan, called “City of
Boulder City Strategic Plan 2020 to 2025” The Plan adopted five goals to be accomplished
during that period. The first goal “Achieve Prudent Financial Stewardship,” applied
specifically to the City’s finances. That goal outlined the following strategies to achieve
that goal, with the current progress towards satisfying those strategies. This Financial Plan
incorporates those strategies as the Plan itself.

Plan Strategies
Strategy 1: Balance the budget.

Progress: Each year the City’s Finance Department prepares a balanced budget
for the City Council to consider. When preparing the budget, each
department is provided instructions on expectations for that budget
cycle, utilizes conservative methods to forecast revenues from the most
accurate sources available, and ensures that all other budget policies
such as establishment of appropriate reserves are followed.

The Finance Department has forecasted out the anticipated revenues

and expenditures over the next five years through fiscal year 2024. The
chart on the prior page includes normal operations/maintenance costs
for the General Fund plus capital expenditures that draw upon the fund
balance.
FINANCIAL PLAN

Strategy 2: Diversify revenue sources through greater use of grants, self-sustaining

funds, and leases.

Progress: The City has leased or optioned 9,883 acres of land for solar energy
development, bringing in $10.2MM in revenues to the City’s General
Fund. These leases provide approximately 30% of the annual operating
budget. An additional $2MM+ is received as revenue from these same
leases to the Capital Improvement Fund.

Moving forward, the City will continue to evaluate lease potential of

City-owned lands for further solar development, communication sites
and industrial development within the urban core. City Departments will
continue to monitor grant opportunities and apply for mission specific
grants to reduce the burden on the general fund and improve their
operational status.

Strategy 3: Ensure budget reserves are 20% of all funds.

Progress: The City adopted an ordinance amendment to Title 1, Chapter 9 to

require that all funds – including the various enterprise funds – maintain
a minimum fund balance of 20% of the current fiscal year’s approved
operating budget. All funds currently comply with this requirement.
4
148
Strategy 4: Maintain emergency funds.

Progress: The City adopted an ordinance amendment to Title 1 Chapter 9 to re-

quire all funds – including the various enterprise funds – to maintain a
minimum emergency fund balance. The emergency fund is in addition to
the required minimum operating reserve balances of 20%.

The required emergency fund balances for the following funds are:

Fund Dollar Amount

General Fund $2,000,000
Utility Fund (all funds) $5,000,000
Airport Fund $ 250,000

All funds currently comply with this requirement.

Strategy 5: Support non-profit and volunteer groups.

Progress: The City supports over ten local non-profit, volunteer groups and
the Clark County School District in the community. Support includes
financial resources, providing city services at a discount, free utilities at
city buildings, public safety support, and use of city parks and facilities.

FINANCIAL PLAN
For Fiscal Year 2018, the equivalent value in cash was at least
$671,964. The entities assisted and their assistance level with cash or
in-kind services were:
Emergency Aid: $34,432 BC Hospital Foundation (Art in the Park)*
Red Mountain Music Company: $32,032 Spring Jamboree*
Senior Center: $200,000 Best Dam BBQ*
BC Museum and Historical Association: $65,000 AKC Kennel Association*
Community Homeless Winter Shelter: $7,500 Doodlebug Bazaar*
Boulder City Chamber of Commerce: $15,000 Knights of Columbus*
Economic Vitality Commission: $95,000 Rotary Clubs*
Special Event Advertising Grants: $50,000 BC Art Guild*
Clark County School District: $173,000 Various churches*
BC Little League* Interfaith Council*
Damboree* See Spot Run*
BC Tennis Foundation*

*Note - cash value equivalent still under review

The City is committed to provide continued support to our local non-profit

and volunteer groups through financial, in-kind and other support.

5
149
Strategy 6: Establish a five-year rolling financial plan.

Progress: This document satisfies this strategy and will be continually updated
each year.

L I V E
W O R K
P L AY
R E T I R E

FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN

FISCAL YEARS 2019-2024

Adopted: February 12, 2019

FINANCIAL PLAN

Strategy 7: Evaluate the value of expenditures for outsourced services.

Progress: The Finance Department is commited to continued evaluation of all

expenditures for outsourced services to ensure that the City is receiving
the best value for the taxpayer dollar. The Department recently hired a
Purchasing Manager to ensure that all purchased services provide the
best value to the community and safeguard taxpayer dollars.

Strategy 8: Communicate and share financial successes with the community.

Progress: The City hired a Communications Manager in FY19 to help improve

the City’s official communications and expand the volume, quality and
platforms for information to our citizens. The Finance Department is
committed to utilize this new tool to improve our level of communication.
Recent improvements by the Finance Department include executive
summaries of major finance products - such as the City’s annual budget,
the five-year capital improvement plan and this document.

6
150
Strategy 9: Adopt and integrate best practices into department’s programs and
operations.

Progress: The department has recently hired additional staff to enable it to adopt
and implement best practices for local government accounting. The
most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report prepared by
independent auditors had no findings regarding the Department’s
handling of the City’s finances.

The Finance Department is commited to continually reviewing best

practices and employing them locally to ensure accurate and reliable
financial information and safeguards.

Strategy 10: Hire and retain a high-quality staff.

Progress: The department has hired over the past year: a Contracts/Real Estate
Manager, Purchasing Manager, Internal Audit Specialist and Department
Secretary. Continual evaluation of the department functions and
efficiencies may result in shifting duties and additional personnel if
necessary to ensure the Department operates at the highest levels.

Financial Plan Companion Document

FINANCIAL PLAN
Each year the City prepares a 5-year
Capital Improvement Plan. That plan
provides the roadmap towards meeting the
infrastructure needs of the City. As part
of the plan development, the City prepares L I V E
an analysis of our existing infrastructure W O R K
P L AY
and identifies the needs for improvement. R E T I R E
That document, called “STAMP” (Strategic
Asset Management Plan) is then used as a
basis for developing the priorities for project
ANNUAL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
implementation and funding sources.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
FISCAL YEAR 2019-2020
Adopted: May XX, 2019

TENTATIVE
Adopted November 27, 2018

7
151
This document prepared by:
City of Boulder City
Finance Department
Diane Pelletier, Director
401 California Avenue
Boulder City, Nevada 152
YTD BUDGET UPDATE
&
FINANCIAL PLAN
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
FEBRUARY 12, 2019

153
FINANCE UPDATE

• Current progress of the Fiscal Year 2019 budget

• Revenues
• Expenses

• Review and adoption of the Financial Plan

154
6 MONTH BUDGET REVIEW - REVENUES

• The revenues are coming in as expected

• Some revenues, such as property taxes or lease payments, vary throughout the year
• C-Tax is coming in as expected
• Utility revenues are coming in above the expected rate due to the record setting
summer and fall temperatures
• Other revenues are coming in at the expected rate and we are on target to hit our
revenue forecast numbers

155
6 MONTH BUDGET REVIEW - EXPENSES

• The fiscal year is 50% complete. Expenses are expected to be at or below this progress
point.
• All funds are at or below 52% of the budgeted amount for expenses for the fiscal year
• Some expenses are cyclical, such as purchase of equipment and supplies, or professional
service contracts
• All funds are performing as expected for this point in the fiscal year

156
GENERAL FUND & AIRPORT FUND REVENUES
YTD Revenue
100.0%

90.0%

80.0%
47.7%
70.0% 57.2%
60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%
52.3%
20.0% 42.8%
10.0%

0.0%

General Fund Airport Fund

% Received % Remaining 50% of Year
157
GENERAL FUND & AIRPORT FUND EXPENDITURES
YTD Expenditures
100.0%

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%
51.5% 52.1%
60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%
48.5% 47.9%
10.0%

0.0%

General Fund Airport Fund

% Spent % Remaining 50% of Year
158
UTILITY FUND REVENUES
YTD Revenue
100%

90%
30.3% 25.5% 25.2%
80%

70% 58.7%
60%

50%

40%

69.7% 74.6% 74.8%

30%

20% 41.3%
10%

0%

Electric Fund Water Fund Sewer Fund Landfill Fund

% Received % Remaining 50% of Year
159
UTILITY FUNDS EXPENDITURES
YTD Expenditures
100.0%

90.0%

80.0%

52.1% 47.6%
70.0% 58.0% 58.4%
60.0%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

47.9% 52.4%
20.0% 42.0% 41.6%
10.0%

0.0%

Electric Fund Water Fund Sewer Fund Landfill Fund

% Spent % Remaining 50% of Year
160
FISCAL YEAR 2020 BUDGET PREPARATION
CALENDAR
Timeframe Action
Jan – Feb City Departments submit draft budgets, meet with Finance/City Manager, and
draft budget is put together
March 13th City Council Workshop to Review Budgets
TBD Staff-led Citizen Workshop to Review Budgets
April 9th City Council Review of Tentative Budget
April 11th File Tentative Budget with State of Nevada
May 14th City Council Review and adoption of the Final Budget, Capital Improvement
Plan and Pay Classifications
May 16th Submit Final Budget and CIP to the State of Nevada

161
FINANCIAL PLAN

• City Code requires that the City adopt a 5-year Financial

Plan every year
• Purpose of the plan is to assist the City in preparing future
budgets to ensure that financial commitments made in year
one can still be met by year five
• Useful tool to forecast revenues through analysis of the
various revenue streams and identify underperforming
sectors
• Assists the City in evaluating the effect of the Capital
Improvement Plan on city operations and fund balance

162
NOTES ON 5-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN

• C-Tax collections forecasted at a 4% rate, actual 5-year trend is at 5.25%

• Rents from Leases only uses the current leases and their scheduled increases. Does not
include any potential existing lease options that might be exercised or future solar lands
• Property Tax is forecast at 2.5% growth
• Building Permit forecast does not include potential large building permit fee collections
associated with solar developments or tract home developments. Assumes the five-year
average going forward.

163