A plain-language look at Avondale's adopted budget for
July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.
Budget at a glance
Avondale adopted a $457.1 million FY2023 budget
Avondale's FY2023 budget covered the fiscal year beginning
July 1, 2022 and ending June 30, 2023. City Council adopted
the final budget on June 6, 2022.
Adopted budget$457.1MBudgeted expenditures and expenses
Capital appropriation$226.6MGeneral capital, enterprise projects and equipment replacement
Projected revenues$225.8MBudget in Brief measure excluding specified financing items
Property-tax levy$8.44MPrimary and secondary City levies combined
The $457.1 million budget is not $457.1 million in taxes
The adopted budget includes revenue, beginning fund balances,
transfers, capital funding, financing sources and other resources
available to the City.
It represents spending authority. It does not establish that every
authorized dollar was actually spent during FY2023.
What changed from FY2022?
The adopted budget increased by about $121 million
FY2022 adopted or adjusted budgeted expenditures were
$336.1477 million. FY2023 adopted expenditures were
$457.1066 million, an increase of approximately
$120.96 million, or 36.0%.
Measure
FY2022
FY2023
Change
Adopted / adjusted budget
$336.1M
$457.1M
+$120.96M (+36.0%)
Capital investment was a major part of the increase
The City's FY2023 budget documents describe strong economic
growth and the use of accumulated fund balance and revenues above
long-term trends for one-time expenses such as capital projects.
The adopted State schedule shows approximately $99.9 million in
General Fund balance available at the beginning of FY2023.
The final budget separately identifies $226.6 million in total
capital appropriations.
The Police Department had already launched a license plate reader program
In its FY2022 highlights, the FY2023 Police budget states that
Avondale had launched a license plate reader program
and identified two stolen vehicles.
The same highlights report that two drones were added to the
Police drone program. The FY2023 budget also identifies investment
in two photo-enforcement cameras and mobile crash-reporting
software.
The reviewed FY2023 documents do not identify a separate dollar
amount for the license plate reader program.
Where the money goes
Operating services and capital investment dominated FY2023
Avondale's FY2023 Budget in Brief presents an operating budget of
approximately $191.5 million and a capital budget
of approximately $228.7 million.
Capital budget$228.7M
Operating budget$191.5M
Different City tables report different capital totals
The Budget in Brief reports a $228.7 million capital budget.
The final annual budget identifies $226.612 million in total
capital appropriations, while the detailed Capital Improvement
Plan identifies $213.303 million for FY2023.
These figures measure overlapping but not identical categories.
The $226.6 million figure includes general capital, enterprise
capital projects and equipment replacement.
Budget by fund
Another way to look at the $457.1 million
Fund group
FY2023 budget
General Fund
$183,288,700
Special Revenue Funds
$105,970,100
Enterprise Funds
$97,867,400
Capital Projects Fund
$40,012,000
Trust & Agency Fund
$10,312,000
Debt Service Fund
$9,866,000
Internal Service Funds
$9,790,400
Total
$457,106,600
These fund-group figures reconcile exactly to Avondale's
$457.1066 million adopted FY2023 expenditure budget.
Where the money comes from
FY2023 projected revenues totaled about $225.8 million
Avondale's Budget in Brief reports $225.8 million in projected
FY2023 revenues, excluding transfers in, interfund loans and other
financing sources.
$86.9MTaxes
About 38% of projected revenue.
$61.8MService charges & development fees
About 27% of projected revenue.
$59.1MIntergovernmental revenues
About 26% of projected revenue.
$17.9MOther revenue
About 8% of projected revenue.
Why $225.8 million does not equal the $457.1 million budget
Revenue is only one source available to support the budget.
Avondale also had accumulated fund balances, transfers and other
financial resources available for FY2023.
The statutory adopted schedule uses another measure and reports
$250.6142 million in estimated revenue other than property taxes.
That figure should not be treated as the same measure as the
$225.8 million Budget in Brief total.
Property taxes
FY2023 City property-tax levies totaled about $8.44 million
The adopted budget schedules identify the exact primary and
secondary City property-tax levy amounts and tax rates shown below.
City property tax
FY2023 levy
Rate per $100 assessed value
Primary
$3,514,575
0.6458
Secondary
$4,925,173
0.9050
Total City
$8,439,748
1.5508
Primary levy$3.51M
Secondary levy$4.93M
Combined City rate1.5508Per $100 of assessed value
These are City of Avondale property taxes. Special assessment
districts and taxes imposed by other jurisdictions are separate.
Capital projects
FY2023 included more than $200 million in capital investment
Avondale's detailed Capital Improvement Plan identifies
$213.303 million for FY2023. The broader final-budget
capital appropriation is $226.612 million, while the Budget in Brief
presents a $228.7 million capital budget.
Capital totals depend on what is being counted
The detailed CIP, total capital appropriation and Budget in Brief
capital presentation are different measures. This page labels
those figures rather than presenting them as interchangeable.
Capital budget by function
The FY2023 Budget in Brief grouped approximately $228.7 million
in capital spending into the following functions.
Streets & transportation$76.4M · 33%
Utilities$55.2M · 24%
Community services$48.3M · 21%
Public safety$33.1M · 15%
General government$15.6M · 7%
Selected FY2023 projects
These examples show projects specifically identified in the FY2023
budget. Some amounts below are carryover appropriations from
earlier authorization rather than entirely new FY2023 spending.
P
Parks & community
Community facilities
Aquatic Center
FY2023 capital carryover identified in the final budget.
$5.765M
Community Center Repurposing
FY2023 capital carryover.
$2.010M
Civic Center Park
FY2023 capital carryover.
$599K
T
Transportation
Roads and mobility
107th Avenue Improvements
Broadway Road to Roeser Road capital carryover.
$4.100M
Old Town Avondale Phase II Improvements
Capital carryover identified for FY2023.
$3.101M
107th Avenue / McDowell Widening
Capital carryover identified in the Streets Development Impact Fee Fund.
$2.567M
Avondale Boulevard · McDowell to Encanto
Capital carryover from the Streets Development Impact Fee Fund.
$1.647M
S
Public safety
Police and fire
Relocate Detention Center and Police Substation
FY2023 capital carryover.
$1.200M
Additional Fire Apparatus
Funding for additional response apparatus associated with growth.
$948K
G
General government
City facilities and technology
Parking Garage at The BLVD Park and Ride
FY2023 capital carryover.
$9.500M
Citywide Fiber Expansion & Redundancy
American Rescue Plan Act capital carryover.
$700K
Budgeted project amounts are not proof of actual spending
A project appearing in the FY2023 capital plan or carryover
schedule establishes budget authority. It does not by itself prove
that every dollar was spent, every contract was awarded or the
project was completed during FY2023.
Police technology & surveillance
License plate readers were already documented before FY2023
The FY2023 Police budget's review of FY2022 activity states that
Avondale launched a license plate reader program and identified
two stolen vehicles. It also reports additions to the Police drone
program.
Documented item
Amount
What the budget shows
License plate reader program
Not separately identified
FY2022 Police highlight states the department launched the
program and identified two stolen vehicles.
Two photo-enforcement cameras
Not separately identified
Listed with mobile crash-reporting software as an FY2023
Police technology investment.
Security Cameras and Equipment
$25,000 carryover
Capital carryover identified in the General Fund Capital
schedule.
Police Asset Replacement Program
$95,000 carryover
Public Safety Dedicated Sales Tax capital carryover.
Traffic video camera storage
$90,000
Storage capacity associated with traffic video cameras.
Automated license plate readers
FY2023 provides an earlier marker in Avondale's LPR history
The FY2023 budget establishes that Avondale described its
license plate reader program as already launched during FY2022.
This predates the FY2025 budget objective to test deployment of
cameras acting as license plate readers at specific intersections.
Program documented as launched
FY2022 highlight in FY2023 budget
Dedicated LPR dollar amount identified
No
Reported result in budget
Two stolen vehicles identified
Other camera systems
Not every camera line item is an ALPR
FY2023 contains several camera-related items, including security
cameras, traffic video camera storage and photo-enforcement
cameras.
Those items should not automatically be classified as automated
license plate readers. The budget should be read according to the
terminology the City actually used.
Drones
The Police drone program also predates FY2023
The FY2023 Police budget lists the addition of two drones to the
department's drone program among its FY2022 highlights.
The reviewed budget excerpt does not establish a separate
FY2023 appropriation for those two drones.
Budget versus deployment
Budget records establish some facts, but not every procurement detail
The FY2023 documents establish that Avondale reported launching
an LPR program and operating a drone program. They do not, by
themselves, establish the vendor, complete camera count, exact
deployment locations, retention settings or sharing configuration.