Budget season is here

Welcome to the time of year officially known as ‘Budget Season’ to those of us in City departments. Similar to other “seasons”, such as the holiday season, hunting season, harvest season, tax season, etc., there is much to do in a short amount of time.

Each year the City invites residents to participate in the budget process through community budget gatherings. The goal of the gatherings is to provide relevant budget and financial information in an informal environment so that participants can better understand the City's budget process, including how revenue and expenditure recommendations are made. Concerns and priorities received from past participants have helped guide budget decision-making and prompted thoughtful budget discussions among City departments. If being a part of such a group interests you, I hope that you will consider joining members of the staff at one or more of three community budget gatherings. The meetings are currently scheduled for March 12th at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall; April 16th at a time and place to be determined; and May 14th at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.

If you can’t make it to one of the community budget gatherings, fear not, there will be other opportunities to participate. More on that in a later post. For now, check out the Budget page on the City’s website for a schedule of important dates and links to past budgets.