Throughout 2017, the City hosted public budget meetings and talked to various groups. During that time, staff gathered input from residents regarding items they would like to see included in the supplemental budget and the Five-year Financial Plan. The input was reviewed by City staff and City Council, and a supplemental budget list was created.
Residents were then invited to a round-table discussion with City staff and Councilors to provide feedback on the supplemental list and discuss the details of the budget. The input received was presented to Council on February 20, and the draft Five-year Financial Plan was created.
Citizen Budget
In 2018, the City introduced Citizen Budget, an online simulated budgeting exercise that allows users to allocate tax dollars to various City services based on their assessed home value and prioritize supplementary items. This goal of this participatory tool is to help demystify the complexity of civic finances, as well as gather useful feedback on budget items.
The City has been working hard to improve efficiencies throughout the organization. Some of these efficiencies have been outlined here:
