The City of Parkville published its expanded 2021 Budget document. In December, the Parkville Board of Aldermen adopted the fiscal year 2021 budget and 2021-2026 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) ordinance. The City’s budget includes 17 governmental funds and totals approximately $11.1 million. In addition to the operating budget, the 2021 CIP, totaling approximately $7 million, prioritizes capital projects and establishes a financing strategy for completing each project in 2021.
The expanded budget document provides additional information, beyond the budget ordinance, that helps communicate to the public not only the City’s revenues and projected expenditures for the upcoming year, but a vast amount of additional information. In addition to being a financial plan, the document is a policy document, an operations guide and a communication device for the benefit of taxpayers.
In 2020 for the fifth year in a row, the City received a Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the City of Parkville 2020 Annual Budget. It is the highest form of recognition and the only national awards program in governmental budgeting. Only 24 municipalities statewide received the award in 2020, putting Parkville among the top three percent of its peers for excellence in municipal budgeting.
The budget is the most significant document that the City prepares each year and is organized to convey the services being delivered to the community in 2021. The Board of Aldermen held a strategic planning session in September 2020 to review community priorities and set organizational goals. The Board identified five critical success factors to achieve the City’s mission: basic services, infrastructure, economic development, parks and finances. The 2021 budget maintains essential services at current levels and directs limited additional resources toward the five critical success factors, of which the 2021 budget focuses on addressing.
Highlights of the 2021 budget include:
- The Board continues to strategically manage reserve balances, with a minimum target of 15 percent general fund appropriations in the General Fund and 25% in the Emergency Reserve Fund, in accordance with the City’s reserve policy.
- The entirety of the 2021-2026 CIP includes $6.9 million of capital improvements, with a 2021 budget of $2.45 million (excluding Route 9 improvements); large projects to be done in 2021 include completion of the Master Plan update, continued storm sewer evaluation and repair, continued street maintenance program, sewer plant improvements and phases 1 and 2 of the Route 9 reconstruction from Highway 45 to Lakeview Drive ($4.5 million in Projects Fund).
- In 2019, a new Parks Sales Tax Fund was created, thanks to Parkville voters who approved the half cent sales tax, to implement concepts from the 2016 Parks Master Plan. Major 2021 projects include Pocket Park safety improvements, community recreation fields in Platte Landing Park, playground equipment improvements, Watkins Park improvements, entrance signs to the riverfront parks, a wetland educational area and English Landing Park roundabout improvements.
- The Route 9 Street Improvement project is funded through a combination of state and federal grants and local funds from the 9 Highway Corridor Community Improvement District. The project includes the segment from Highway 45 to Lakeview Drive. A second Route 9 project is also included that will make improvements in the segment around Sixth Street. The project is funded by a combination of state grant funds and local funds.
Mayor Johnston said, “I want to thank the City staff who worked hard to prepare the annual budget that will guide City operations this year. I appreciate the effort of the staff each year to analyze budget recommendations and respond to questions from the Board of Aldermen. We are proud of the budget document, its purpose of promoting transparency in government and the opportunity to better communicate with our residents how we proposed to spend their tax dollars.”
The 2021 budget became effective January 1, 2021. The final budget document is available on the City website at https://parkvillemo.gov/download/Final2021Budget.pdf.
For more information about the budget document, please contact City Administrator Joe Parente at (816) 741-7676.