The budget takes the vast majority of the City Council’s time and calendar throughout the year.  Whether it is the budget process proper or the various Finance Committee meetings it sucks down the most time.  As Cindy indicated in a previous thread: “I’m listening, Rich. Just didn’t want to admit the last budget work session I went to I only lasted a few hours while everyone else went until 1 am.” it can be tough to stay involved throughout the entire process.  It’s tough for Council to do it but that’s part of it.

So, if a citizen has a limited amount of time but wants to find out what’s going on what should they do?  Well, my advice would be to look at two things: the forecast (which we’re talking about on Monday) and the Manager’s budget.  These two items will give you the most accurate indicator of what direction things are going.  The final Council budget typically looks a lot like those two documents and you’ll get a good snapshot of the situation without sitting into a meeting until 1:00am.  It is also best for Council to hear from our citizens early in the process.  If folks really believe we’re going down the wrong road, it’s easier to make significant changes in January than it is in April…

On a related note, some of my buddies who are more management-oriented chide me with “figuring out where to spend every cent isn’t leadership.  It’s management.” and they’re right.  I think all local government types struggle with staying out of the weeds.  Based on what I see I think more fail to stay out of the weeds (especially in smaller jurisdictions) and it hurts their locality.  Why hire a City Manager or County Exec if the elected body is going to be involved every minute?  Like most things, there is a fine balance.  However, If I don’t indicate how I think Manassas does, it’ll be the first question in the comments so I’ll say this about my own personal performance:  I think I wobble accross that line in both directions from time to time although rarely with much velocity.