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budget with the 2004 Budget (Operating and Capital). Financial trends are outlined through the use of graphs. Projected changes in fund balances for the budgeted year can be found in this report. Included in this section is a multi-year forecast of both revenue and expenditures. This has been provided to give the reader a better understanding of some of the financial trends the City is anticipating. The section ends with a summary of personnel staffing levels for the budget year and the prior two years. Section C -Program/Performance Based Budget by Department This section is the backbone of the City's 2004 Budget. You will find this section of the budget document significantly enhanced from previous years. During 1998 and 1999, all City Departments embarked upon intensive training aimed at developing skills to better measure performance outcomes through development of program logic models. This training was primarily aimed at enhancing the City's Performance Based Budget process while providing a tool to help programs improve services. The logic model concept includes the identification of desired program outcomes (representing deparhnental goals and objectives) and performance indicators that attempt to measure the success of our programs. This process will help City employees determine whether or not the resources they expend actually produce the benefits desired for their customers. This entire concept is more fully explained in the introduction included in Section C. Although this is an ongoing process, we believe our efforts during the past three years have allowed us to take a giant step forward in improving accountability and helping us determine if the City's programs really make a difference in the lives of the people that live and work in this community. Section D -Capital /Debt This section contains a summary of the City's 2004 Capital Budget along with an explanation of the procedures and the timing of the Capital Budget approval process. The City's multi-year capital improvement plan along with detailed descriptions of the plan's major projects are also included. A summary of the City's long term debt, legal debt limits and a debt service schedule complete this section. Section E - Glossary This document ends. with a glossary to assist the reader with terminology and acronyms that have been used throughout this book. The following pages of the transmittal letter provide summary information on this community and its surrounding area. Also summarized are the key financial and budgetary controls with which the City is required to comply. The remainder is a discussion of the key issues the City is facing and their impact on current and future budgets. A detailed outline of the City's budget schedule has also been included in this letter. GENERAL. INFORMATION The City of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, and is the fourth largest city in the state. Its 2000 U.S. Bureau of the Census population of 107,789 classifies it as a "City of the Second Class" under Indiana statues (cities with a population of 35,000 to 250,000). It operates with a mayor as chief executive and anine-member City Common Council composed of six members elected from districts and three members at-large. iii