Budget
Budgeting 101 Video Series
A financial video series has been produced to help citizens learn more about the budget process and understand details about revenues and expenses that make up the Operating and Capital Improvement Program Budgets. Topic include
- Budget Process 101
- Revenue Sources
- Operating Budget Overview
- Capital Improvements Program Budget Overview
The videos provide simple graphic illustrations to help bring clarity to what can sometimes be confusing financial topics. We hope you find them informative.
Residents' Guide to Understanding Taxes
The City has also created a helpful guide about revenue sources and how your tax dollars are spent.
Excellence Award
For the second year in a row, the City of Worthington has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. This year’s award is for the 2019 fiscal year report. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
2021 Budget
Worthington City Council has adopted the 2021 Operating and Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Budgets. See the budget documents and presentations below. Final documents will be posted when they are available.
- 2021 Operating Budget (adopted)
- 2021-2024 CIP Budget (adopted)
- Operating Budget Overview Presentation
- CIP Overview Presentation
- Administration, Law, Finance, Planning & Building, Police, Fire, Other Funds
- Parks & Recreation, Service & Engineering, Community Groups
View the city’s financial documents, including current & past annual budgets and monthly financial and income tax reports.
Balancing Act - Worthington's Online Budget Simulation Tool
You can try your hand at balancing Worthington's budget with the City's new online budget simulation tool, Balancing Act. Through Balancing Act, you can learn how the budget process works by making choices about how City dollars are spent. Through the simulation, you can see how those choices impact your ability to balance expenses with revenues. There are two simulations you can link to below, for the Operating Budget and the Capital Improvements Program. The annual Operating Budget contains spending on programs and services, as well as employee compensation and benefits. The Capital Improvements Program (CIP) is the City’s plan for equipment, infrastructure maintenance and improvements. We invite you to try each and submit your results and suggestions to the Worthington Finance Department.
Select which Balancing Act Budget Simulation you would like to try:
Balancing Act Frequently Asked Questions
Select the question and the answer will appear to the right.
- What is Balancing Act?
- Why have you added this new budget tool?
- I’ve submitted recommendations through the tool, what happens next?
- I’d like to learn more about the city’s finances and budget process, where can I find more information?
- I don’t want to use the tool, how can I still provide feedback?
The Balancing Act budget simulation tool allows you to adjust budgets for various city departments to align resources with the services that matter most to you. The key is that you have to balance the city’s revenues and expenses – in the same way the city has to balance the budget each year before budget adoption.
The Worthington City Council has prioritized finding new and innovative ways to include more people in the budgeting process, especially those who are not able to attend the city’s budget hearings. This tool allows people to participate at their own pace, on their own schedule, in conjunction with the city’s traditional budget process.
Submissions into Balancing Act are compiled by the Finance Department and will be shared with the City Council, and department and city management, to help guide the budgeting process.
You can view videos, documents and other resources that explain the budget and process here on the Budget page of the City’s website.
The City will be holding public workshops on the 2021 proposed budget at each City Council meeting throughout the month of November, with adoption of the proposed 2021 budget scheduled for December 7th. You may submit any feedback via email to council@worthington.org or by calling 567-249-0063 with conference ID 94300036# to participate in the City Council meeting.