The Council had a budget retreat this morning. This Council does pride itself on trying to understand and plan for the future and this session helped with that. The proposed cuts come in at about 4% of the budget which may not seem like much but keep in mind that this comes on top of large cuts last year. The easy savings are long gone. These cuts will effect how the City looks and how it works. Things that people are used to seeing and services you are used to having will be going away. We’ll be doing less of the “have to haves” and very little of the “nice to haves”.
Given the guidance the Council has issued, the size of the govnerment is simply not sustainable and we must continue cutting.
Another interesting part of the discussion centered around how we can more effectively communicate with the citizens. I passed along some of the suggestions I’ve recieved here and we kicked around some other ideas. I think an online component is important to our communication strategy and other Council members mentioned that we should hold meetings in some unconventional places – Churches, HOA meetings, etc.
Honestly, it is kinda frustrating that we have to work so hard to get people involved – we hold at least a dozen meetings about the budget! However, I feel (as do the other Council members) that we need to go the extra mile this year and try!
December 11, 2009 at 9:25 pm
This is probably a stupid question but, who attended the budget retreat? Anyone other than the Council envolved? Is it even being considered to raise taxes even a small amount to keep these services from being cut, or how about that rainy day fund I keep hearing about.
December 11, 2009 at 9:30 pm
The City manager, the Council and the Mayor were there. There was also a facilitator there – she did a great job.
A tax increase is not being considered. The rainy day fund will be tapped but not by much. This is a crisis and things are bad but, if this year is anything like the other years, there won’t be a decision on usage of fund balance until right at the end.
December 11, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Also, there aren’t any stupid questions, just un-asked ones!
December 12, 2009 at 11:48 am
Just don’t take away the free city wifi!
December 12, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Can you give some examples of Nice to haves vs. have to haves? I’m guessing police and schools are on the have to have’s but what else? When will details be available?
December 12, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I’m not going to get into the particulars on what’s core and what ain’t. Everyone has their own definition and beliefs about what is core.
Details will not be available until the City Manager presents his budget in January/February time frame. The Council typically sees that budget only a couple of days before it becomes public so we’ll all see it at pretty much the same time.
December 12, 2009 at 3:50 pm
How about a Communications Committee? Appoint volunteers to review the city’s communication with the public, make recommendations and assist in strengthening and improving it through a variety of avenues. I think you have the resources in front of you but they’re either underutilized or not interactive.
And your hard work does have results. Toni Elgart in the clerk’s office told me that thanks to the advertisements requesting that citizens get involved in committees, commissions and boards in the newsletter and at your town hall meetings, you have only four that have openings right now, and that’s one of the best records you’ve had. Here’s the current openings for anyone who wants to get involved:
Architectural Review Board (Alternate Position)
Cities of Manassas/Manassas Park Disability Services Board (2 Positions)
Citizens Advisory Committee on Solid Waste (2 Positions)
Commission on Aging (1 Regular Position)
December 12, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Increasing citizen involvement – pat yourself on the back! You’ve already been using two of the most effective tools – town hall meetings and study circles (last spring’s neighborhood improvement circles). Both bring together diverse people for productive conversations that lead to action and change. Don’t stop now! Not everyone will “ignite.” Just that valuable 20% of the 80-20 rule. Give it time.
Google John McKnight, the “community building” guru. One of the things he recommends is to map out your assets. One asset is all the associations in our city – American Legion, Rotary, Kiwanis, Woman’s Club, etc., as well as faith organizations, youth groups, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Imagine if you approached each one and asked them to ask their membership to partner with the city in any change you want to accomplish – mobilizing their membership to help solve problems and increase productivity in the face of economic downturn.
Mobilize people and assets for the short term, say the next four years. The same way people banded together during WWII to job share, cultivate victory gardens, open their homes to war orphans, barter and trade – creative problem-solving to make it through the tough times.
December 14, 2009 at 8:49 am
Andy, I thank you for the synopsis of the Budget Retreat, and your previous posting on the upcoming year. Your issue around citizen involvement was one I addressed during one of the Public Hearings last year.
Yes, the Council holds a lot of meetings from the work sessions on to the ones in the Chamber. I said last year an excellent way, since the work sessions for the most part started at 5:30 p.m., and this being a commuter City, having the documents posted on the web (slides, minutes) would at least give those of us who could not make the meeting, an opportunity to see the issues/how the budget is evolving. This is an excellent way to get word out without asking our hard working Council to hold work sessions at 7pm.
All we get publicly is Mr. Hughes beginning and the end budget. This would be one way to increase citizen involvement…put the word out on cable channels and also a big spot on the front page of the website so folks know the docs are there.
Let’s start this FY Planning out right – at a minimum, put the slides/material from the Budget Retreat up on the web. Right now, all you could directly find is the one-pager Agenda. The minutes would be useful too. The BOCS when they did their retreat in October, put all the slides up, and since I represent my City on the Commission on Aging, the information will assist the COA in our role as advisor to the three local governments.
I also support having a session with the HOAs – at least the Presidents. We do an Annual Breakfast with them, so let’s get them invovled..which also meets a couple of the goals from the 2005 Strategic Plan.
The citizens knowing what the baseline to Mr. Hughes is will also help us understand things. You replied to MM you were not going to get into the particulars of what is core or not core – but the presentations, minutes and any other documents from the Council Retreat would be beneficial.
Start with sharing what can be made public (since the retreat was not shown as a closed session – then the smart volunteers like Cindy and I can figure ways to get other groups paying attention.
December 14, 2009 at 9:09 am
All:
I’ll look and see what information is available from the retreat. There weren’t any presentations or slides but there should be a summary produced in the near future.
The notion of putting all of our work papers up on the web is a good one and we should probably do it. However, without the benefit of the staff briefings, I wonder how many people will actually understand all of that stuff? I don’t think I could. I guess that really isn’t my business and it certainly isn’t an excuse not to do it but I do wonder…..
December 14, 2009 at 11:26 am
“Residents balk at both service cuts and tax hikes –
if Dec. 8th was a preview of what’s to come, Loudoun
County Supervisors are likely going to offend the
masses.
Fifty county residents spoke out at a public input
meeting, all asking the board to spare them from
budget cuts and/or higher taxes – a scenario
supervisors say they will not be able to achieve.”
Loudoun Times-Mirror (12-9-2009)
The story is much the same across Virginia.
The fiscal hurricane of the Great Recession
is pounding almost all local jurisdictions.
December 14, 2009 at 3:11 pm
” Will Falls Church voters move to a fall election?
Opponets say moving the election date could shield
the city’s political leadership from voter’s wrath as
officials struggle with a nasty hole in the budget
The city’s charter calls for the budget to be settled
near the time some council members stand for election.”
(Wash. Post -Metro Section 12-14-2009)
FYI – Unlike Manassas Park and perhaps Falls Church,
Manassas has kept municipal elections in May.
December 16, 2009 at 10:04 am
Regarding putting the Work Papers on the web and people understanding them:
Andy, one of the things I like when it comes to Budget Time is in the City, the papers showing the dollars, how they are broken out by departments & chart of accounts, and any which show options (i.e. the 5-Year Plan with the various tax rates) is so much easier to read than that joke of a “budget book” the County produces. That set up with two columns, crammed with so much information, is just a confusing mess when you are trying to get the picture. IMHO as a Comptroller in my former Army life.
Ours are clean, albeit you have an excellent point that many people without some bookkeeping background would be confused. One possibility to do would after posting them, allow a comment period for
e-mail questions or observations to be submitted. Of course, that will take up City Hall time to answer – but it is also what the Council the driving for to have more citizen involvement.
To just toss a somewhat cynical comment as to how many people would actually look at them and comment on them – I would lay odds it will follow the “10% Rule” which is that only 10% of any given group are going to step up to the plate and do it.
December 22, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Andy,
One sure way to close the budget gap is to place police officers at any intersection within the city to look for people who do not come to a complete stop when they are supposed to. Any of the stop signs on Cloverhill is a good place to start. I’m not sure why and when it started, but the number of people I see not stopping or rolling through stop signs is very high. It’s a public safety issue and the snob people who think they are too important to stop obviously need to be reminded through fines that stop signs are not optional.