Indio’s Adopted Budget Tells a Story

Adopted budget document will be available to the public on Sept. 1

INDIO –  This community’s $187.5 million budget, which the City Council unanimously adopted, is nearly ready for prime time.  And, it’s more than a blur of figures.

“Effective municipal budget documents contain more than just numbers; they convey a story about where a city has been and where it intends to go,” said Rob Rockwell, Assistant City Manager and Director of Finance.

Members of the public wishing to view the city’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22 adopted budget document can do so on the city’s website on Sept. 1, 2021. The sets forth $187.5 million in appropriations for July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. The adopted budget document contains wide-ranging information about the city’s finances, enhancements compared to prior budget years, and seeks to increase financial accountability and transparency.

Citizens can expect to see more information on Indio’s strategic planning and goals, accomplishments, and an increasingly robust section on financial policies. Enrichments to the budget glossary provide understandability for technical terms and acronyms.

“This year we also added a more visually friendly demographics page for those interested in learning about the community,” Rockwell said.

In the coming months, the city will submit the FY 2021-2022 budget to the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) and California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) budget awards. For the last two years, GFOA and CSMFO recognized the city of Indio finance team for its excellence in budget preparation, meeting a comprehensive list of budgetary document requirements, and serving as a volunteer reviewer for another organization’s budget. The city continuously strives to create a budget document that meets and exceeds such award-worthy quality.

New for FY 2021-22, the City of Indio also added a Budget-In-Brief to accompany the full, adopted budget document. The Budget-In-Brief boils down the original 230-page budget document into a high-level overview of the most significant budgetary items in an easy-to-read format. This is where readers can obtain information on the community, strategic planning, and other vital details on citywide and general fund budgets.

“A well-prepared budget serves as a visionary document, as well as an informational one, and the city believes that the FY 2021-22 adopted budget document realizes both of these objectives,” Rockwell said in a prepared statement.  “I am proud to recognize Accountant Liberty Urban and our entire Finance Team for their hard work to help achieve this.”

The full, adopted budget document and Budget-In-Brief can be accessed effective Sept. 1 on the Finance and Budget page of the City of Indio’s website by clicking here.

Photo caption: Indio’s finance team