Council Budget Workshop – August 2, 2012
Your city council will be meeting on Thursday to begin taking a detailed look at the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Oversight of the city’s budget is perhaps one of the most important and powerful roles of the council. Similar to the legislative branch of our federal government, the city council holds the “power of the purse.” Each year, we must approve the budget – this enables the council to set priorities for a given year and beyond.
To see the proposed budget for this year, please go here to download the pdf. If you are new to looking at city budgets, I offer you this suggestion… Read pages 15-18, an introductory note from the City Manager, in order to get a concise overview of the financial and strategic direction of the city. Then I would read pages 29-55 in order to understand the various revenue sources, major expenditures by category, and the various funds the city uses to carry out its business.
And because I realize that most of you do not have the leisure, interest, or patience to sit through Thursday’s 5 hour budget workshop, I have gathered the powerpoint that we will be seeing and posted it here for your benefit and perusal.
Realize that we are just beginning these discussions. We will have a public hearing on the budget during the August 21 council meeting and will not be voting to adopt the budget until September 11. Your voice in this process is essential, so after looking at this, please let me know your thoughts.