The Budget Process Cometh

The following is an op-ed to appear in the TVN on July 31st.

What an exciting time of the year this is! Fourth of July celebrations, music festivals, bbq's and most importantly it's time to work through your City's budget process once again. You've waited patiently all year to review last year's budget against the actual numbers like a kid on Christmas Eve tossing and turning frantically in bed waiting to finally run down stairs and rip into the new toys under the tree. Or maybe you're like most people and haven't actually found the thrill of the budget process yet and just read a blurb about it in the paper every year.

Ok, I must admit that as a new Council member I am very new to the budget process and I actually wasn't eagerly anticipating the extra budget meetings I've been sitting through. In fact I was dreading the whole affair quite frankly. I wasn't sure where to begin, how to formulate my opinions, and have no previous municipal budgeting experience to draw upon. Luckily, at this year's Association of Idaho Cities conference I sat in on a budgeting workshop and learned about a great book called “The Price of Government” which advocates a process called Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO). Although I wouldn't exactly call it a page turner, it did get me excited about actively participating in the budget process. It made me realize that the budget is where it all goes down. This is where the action is, where the look and feel of your City is decided, and where YOUR money gets spent.

Of course the budget process can be boring, frustrating, draining, and painstakingly slow. That's where BFO comes in. This methodology guides the process with a level of common sense and transparency that takes away the sting of the whole experience. While budgeting might not be for everyone, this certainly makes it way more bareable.

It will take a few years to fully utilize BFO in Victor, but we have opportunity this year to take the first steps. Step one: actively engage the public more in the process. So here I am asking all the citizens of Victor to email me your wish list and come to our budget hearing on August 27th. It's an opportunity for every citizen to come forth and let us know where we did well, where we screwed up, and how you want the City to operate in the future. The budget process is a lot like voting. If you don't go to the polls, you can't complain about the results.