Res 1981-010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Memo to: Mayor Kraus and Council Members Subj~ect: BUdget Goals Program January 6, 1981 Page 2 versely, each year the budget process should evaluate whether fiscal realities dictate a new look at the City's goals expressed in the Master Plan. The establishment of City goals in the Master Plan process is the opportunity for citizens to address goals in each deoartment's ooera- tion. This might seem unfeasible at first. ~at does the public know about the Insoection Department, Finance, Water and Wastewater, and so on? ~ile they may not know how something is accomplished at City Hall, they generally recognize t~-~ results if something is or is not accomplished--if inferior construction is allowed, if City funds are found to be missing, if water pressure is bad, if sewerage spills into the river, etc. Therefore, goals can speak to general, observable results which the community feels are necessary to have desirable quality of life. By combining the goals program with the budget process, the citizens will have an opportunity to discuss what goals are not only desirable, but what goals are affordable. SECOND STEP(S) To begin the process towards meshing goals with budgets, staff proposes that: l) Several public meetings be held (possibly in conjunction with Master P%an Committee meetings) to orient the public to the overall concerns and ideas of a goals-budget process; 2) At first, staff is to deal with only three departments--Animal Control, Library, and Parks and Recreation. These reoresent de- partments which are relatively small, have variable citizen view- points as to the extent each department should be funded, and have potential for innovative financing schemes; 3) Several meetings are to be held in the community with division and department heads to develop goals for the departments. This would in effect be some of the budget work six months in advance of the new fiscal year; 4) As goals, objectives, costs, and financing alternatives are dis- cussed with the first group, the process will begin on a similiar basis with four additional departments--Fire, Sanitation, Inspec- tion and Utility Billing; and 5) As they are developed, drafted goals and objectives would be sub- mitted to Council for review, so that the Council would have more lead time to review department budget figures. Depending on the experience gained in the process described above and the department capabilities at any given time, the other departments