Management and Budget

About the Budget

The City of Hartford's budget is a plan for the future.

The budget represents a 12 month period, starting from July 1 and ending on June 30. Since it covers parts of two calendar years it is referred to as the Fiscal Year 2011-2012 budget.

 Following the governing rules of the Hartford City Charter, the budget presents City policies, the activities needed to carry out those policies, and the resources required to accomplish the activities. It shows areas where funding comes from, such as grants and local taxes. It also shows where funding gets spent, like on education, public safety, libraries and more.

Traditionally, budgets allocate monies to departments for items such as salaries and supplies using the prior year's amount as a base. This year's budget starts with a zero base and allocates funds for programs and activities. It emphasizes positive results by focusing on the City's priorities.

The budget is created and implemented using a set process. Based on required laws and information from the community, goals and objectives are identified by the Mayor and the Court of Common Council. Activities, linked to the City's goals, are then developed. The activities are described in the budget document to specifically state what an activity does, for whom and why it is valuable. The City and its departments are then responsible for completing the activities to meet the goals.

In sum, the budget states what the City wants to do, charts a course of action and accomplishes results to benefit and serve the Hartford community.

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