02.16.22 Budget Workshop - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes February 16, 2022 resources to serve our community. We have had three years of zero -based budgeting where departments did everything to conserve while ensuring we provide core basic services to our community. To put this in perspective, we are in one of the fastest growing communities in the nation. When you look at the development permits issued and maintenance we have taken on as well as the increase in population and Texas State's growth, our resources have not kept up with that demand. The pressure of our rapidly growing region and community means we have to be intentional about dedicating sufficient resources to provide basic services to our community. A couple of proposals to address this will be presented this evening. One note is conservative revenue estimates are necessary to maintain secure financial stability; however, this practice has constrained staffing and resources within critical areas. In advance of this meeting, directors were asked to share some of the constraints their departments are experiencing. In addition to attracting and retaining qualified staff, they responded that some of their biggest challenges are increased costs, supply chain issues, and the number of staff not keeping up with the significantly larger workload created by our growth and priorities. Ms. Reyes thanked the Directors, Assistant Directors and Managers for working with their teams to lead and set the expectations for how the city will achieve our mission of providing for the health, safety and wellness of our community. She also thanked the dedicated staff throughout the organization as they continue to work day in and day out serving our community. She thanked Council for their support, their open minds and their desire to continue to make San Marcos an outstanding place to live, work, play, and visit. Ms. Reyes said this is the meeting is only the beginning of our budget discussion. There will be several more opportunities to discuss topics brought up today. Future budget work session dates have been scheduled for May 17, June 29, and August 18. There is still a lot of work to do in the months ahead to develop this budget, but the discussion today and approval of the Budget Policy statement in March will provide the direction needed to ensure it reflects the goals of council. Ms. Reyes introduced Interim Finance Director Anna Miranda to begin the presentation. Ms. Miranda provided an outline of what will be discussed this evening including the Budget Process, FY21 Year -End Review, Challenges, Core Services/Strategic Initiatives, Economy and Environment, General Fund, Other City of San Marcos Page 3