Initial preparation of the city’s annual operating budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 was highlighted with a city council workshop last week.

First things first, according to City Manager Ben White, who made a morning-long presentation to the council on June 30. White delivered the presentation in two parts: setting goals for the city and looking at the city’s current financial condition.

He commenced the meeting by declaring that the city needs a vision statement.

“A vision statement is important to have,” White said. He explained that a statement should be 20 words or fewer in length and should lay out distinctly its plans for “tomorrow.” It should “express hopes, dreams and future aspirations,” he said, and it should “inspire a city towards a vision of the future.”

The council convened the workshop at RSVP Farmersville, a meeting room off the downtown square and down the street from City Hall.

Farmersville does have a “mission statement,” which the council is likely to refine, per White’s suggestion that it, too, contain 20 or fewer words. The mission statement, White said, “focuses on today. What we do. Who we serve. How we serve them.” He said a “solid mission statement motivates a city to advance toward solid goals.”

For the full story, see the July 7 issue of The Farmersville Times.