Council member Ryan Walters drafted a resolution which would set goals and objectives for the 2015 budget which is currently being worked on by city department heads as well as Mayor Gere. His resolution would, among other things, reduce the amount of money in the city’s General Fund reserve balance, calls for hiring a city attorney, ensure the Police Department is fully-staffed and provide cost-of-living adjustments for employees not represented by unions.
The City Council should have been working on goals and objectives for the budget earlier this year, as called for in the current year’s budget, which suggests the Council and/or Mayor should set goals and objectives in the March-April time frame.
The 2014 Budget says, “The budget process for the City of Anacortes is a year-round activity.” Past practice has been that the Mayor proposes a budget and the City Council looks at it and, ultimately, approves it with little or no change.
But, Walters and Council member Eric Johnson would like to change that. They want the Council to set some overall objectives that the Mayor would or would not follow in her final budget, with Johnson saying the Council should be gathering input from citizens.
Mayor Gere told the Council, “This may not be the process this year, but I think we’ll get there,” adding that, “I’m going to do my best to present to you a balanced budget.” Gere feels that for the Council to try to set goals and objectives while she’s working on the budget might not work.
Council member John Archibald said the proposal is part of what we should be doing “This is the beginning of a conversation.”
The resolution will come back to the next Council study session on August 25. By then, the Mayor will be just four weeks away from delivering her draft budget to the City Council.