As I hope you know by now, Victor was awarded one of four Orton Family Foundation's Heart and Soul grants. The award includes $100,000 plus technical and professional assistance from the Foundation. This is a tremendous opportunity for our citizens to build on the great work that has been done in Victor in the past such as the Community Action Plan (2003), Victor Comprehensive Plan (2006), EPA Smart Growth Technical Assistance Grant (2006). The City of Victor has two primary partners in this project: Valley Advocates for Responsible Development (VARD) and Teton Valey Trails and Pathways (TVTAP).
We have named the project Envision Victor and it will span at least the next two years. Envision Victor will ask citizens of Victor to articulate the heart and soul of Victor. Those stories, places, and values will be used to to shape how our town grows and will contribute specifically, to finalizing design work for our downtown core
One of the first steps in the project is to form a local citizen advisory committee to steer the project. To begin with, the committee will consist of 8 members; two from each of the three partner organizations and two members from the public at large. This committee will begin their work by developing criteria for hiring a part time project coordinator who will be responsible for organizing and managing the project on a day to day basis. All the Envision Victor committee meetings associated with this project will be open the public.
Goals for Envision Victor include:
- Engage as many residents as possible in Envision Victor, both long-time residents and more recent arrivals.
- Identify and articulate the Heart & Soul attributes of Victor: those values, qualities, events, and places that reflect Victor’s truly unique identity.
- Build Heart & Soul elements into land use decisions or policies such as a downtown plan, a transportation plan, design guidelines, or ordinances.
- Use new tools, high-tech and conventional, to identify and visualize alternative scenarios that assist with land-use decisions.
- Create a series of Sub-Committees to steer individual aspects of the project.
- Integrate the Transportation Plan and the downtown Victor Plan.
- Adopt design review guidelines and standards for downtown Victor.
- Identify new public/private partnerships that could contribute to downtown growth and resilience.
As part of the Envision Victor project, and related to the Heart & Soul Community Planning award, Victor has engaged Landsman Transportation Planning, LLC, of Portland, Oregon. Landsman will work closely with the Victor Transportation Advisory Committee comprised of Victor citizens and area stakeholders, such as START, the area mass transit service, and develop a comprehensive transportation plan. The transportation plan, an integral part of Envision Victor, will focus on the following elements:
- Street Connectivity: Devise new ways to connect and expand Victor's network of streets.
- Speeding on Main Street and other streets: work with ITD to reconcile local needs and desires with State Transportation requirements and regulations.
- Main Street and Center Street: design guidelines including intersection treatment.
- Parking: Develop and implement safe and creative public parking strategies in the downtown core.
Envision Victor and the transportation plan, are two important projects designed to strengthen Victor’s unique sense of place as it faces growth and change. The success of both efforts will depend on citizen participation. Victor’s citizens are best qualified to identify the qualities that make this town special and I encourage you to participate. More information about both efforts will be available in the next several weeks. If you have questions in the meantime, please me at scott@victorcityidaho.com.
Our next Advisory Committee Meeting will be held on October 21st at 8:30am in City Hall.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Moose Cross a Huge Success! 2 More Races scheduled for Oct 4th and 18th
Chellie Terry Strikes a pose on the announcers platform.
Troy Barry owns the run up.
On Saturday Sept 20th, 2008 Victor, ID changed. No longer a sleepy town in the shadows of Driggs to the North and Jackson to the East, it became a destination cycling town! If you haven't looked around lately you may have missed the fact that CycloCross racing is sweeping the country from Gloucester, MA to Seattle, WA. This is a style of bike racing that appeals to hard core racers, weekend warriors, and casual cyclists alike. Train all year for 'Cross glory or jump off the couch and give it a shot for the fun of it. And that's exactly what 80+ racers did last Saturday.
Yes, my moment of glory! Hole Shot on turn one, trying to run from the Chicken!
As one of the race orgainizers I was overwhelmed by the success of this event. We had racers from Salt Lake, Boise, Ketchum, Missoula, Bozeman, Boston, and of course Driggs, Victor, and Jackson. Hundreds of spectators lined the course waving cowbells, and the talk all day was how everyone couldn't wait to come back and race again, "even if gas was 17 dollars a gallon next year, I would make a point to get back to Moose Cross" - The Reverend - Church of the Big Ring. Read his entire blog here.
One of the best races of the day was the under 12 year old kids race. Over a dozen little rippers tore around a condensed MooseCross course complete with chicanes, barriers, and woop dees. I can't explain the stoke these kids had to be racing their bikes. Truly awesome!
Coming down the homestretch
Every kid received a commemorative Cowbell
The Chicken holds off an attack on the buff pavement.
Check out full results and info about the next 2 races HERE.
Monday, August 18, 2008
2008/2009 Proposed Budget
Below is how the proposed '08/09 Budget stands. On Wednesday August 27th we'll be conducting the public hearing to discuss the budget. If you have questions / concerns this is your chance to voice them. I strongly encourage everyone to look over the budget and come to the meeting prepared if you have requests. Once the budget gets to the public hearing stage we are pretty far into the process. Therefore it is more challenging to change things. But not impossible. A well thought out presentation will be considered seriously.
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Orton Foundation Arrives
John Carney from the Rocky Mountain branch of the Orton Foundation will be arriving next Wednesday August 20th for initial planning work on our Heart and Soul project. As a recap, the Heart and Soul project is a 2 year $100k planning project for Victor. Next week John is looking to meet with Victor citizens who are interested in learning more about this project and sharing their views on Victor. If you have anytime on Thursday the 21st and Friday the 22nd to meet with John send me an email with times that work for you: scottf@victorcityidaho.com
As we get into the Fall there will be a series of community meetings which we'll keep you posted on.
As we get into the Fall there will be a series of community meetings which we'll keep you posted on.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: Meet the new urbanists (08/05/2008)
Lisa Haidostian, ClimateWire reporter
A white picket fence, a well-manicured lawn and a cute little house owned by ... a recently graduated twentysomething?
Not so much.
The suburbs, which since World War II have dominated the American real estate scene, are suffering an identity crisis. Baby boomers are nearing retirement age, people are marrying and having kids later in life, and college graduates are flocking to cities. Housing experts say these cultural and aging shifts have slammed the door on the era of urban sprawl.
Add to the mix crippling energy prices, rising awareness of climate change and the glorification of urban lifestyles in hit shows like "Friends" and "Sex and the City," and you've got yourself a housing revolution, experts say.
"With the demographic changes, I think that we are going to see a different development paradigm than we've seen in the past," said David Goldberg, spokesman for Smart Growth America, a national coalition of groups that promotes walkable communities and sustainable development.
But there's only so much city, and not everyone can afford to get it. According to Chris Leinberger, a top land use strategist and director of the graduate real estate program at the University of Michigan, home prices in urban communities have "gone through the roof." As evidence, he cited a recent Brookings Institution study showing a 40 to 200 percent price premium on a price-per-square-foot basis for walkable urban housing.
"That's pent-up demand speaking. That's the market speaking," he said. "I never thought I'd say this, but it's a supply-side problem. We don't have enough supply."
Enter "smart growth" communities, on which Leinberger said developers will place "considerably more focus" when the current housing slump straightens out. Often taking the form of redevelopment projects, such communities feature mixed-use zoning, easy access to public transportation and a general focus on energy-efficient design.
"We have this climate crisis to deal with, and at least a piece of that will be how we deal with transportation," Goldberg said. "The best way to [reduce greenhouse gas emissions] is to meet this rising demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods."
The American Dream, Part 2
Geoff Anderson, president and chief executive of Smart Growth America, noted recently that a real estate consulting firm found about a third of the market wanted to live in walkable urban communities. That figure, he said, is "expected to accelerate because of some demographic changes and changes in buyer preferences."
Changing households are key, he said, noting that in 1960 about 48 percent of households were composed of a mom, a dad and two kids. By 2025, only 28 percent will have that makeup, eliminating issues like transporting a large brood.
Further, as the population grows older, many say they don't want to maintain a large lot and hop in the car for a run to the dry cleaner. "The baby boom generation, as it always has in the U.S., is going to be driving changes," Anderson said.
Job opportunities and the desire for high-density neighborhoods are making urban communities even more popular for young singles and recent graduates, adding more fuel to the smart-growth development fire.
And, Goldberg noted, exurbs were hit hardest by the mortgage crisis, while many urban areas held their value. The suburban market model, he said, is "looking a little shaky these days."
But more intriguing even than changing demographics, experts say, are the ways in which new communities seem to be leading a climate-conscious charge.
"We believe that the asphalt-intensive sprawl that dominates our landscape is no one's idea of the American Dream," Smart Growth America's Web site proclaims.
The most fuel-efficient car is the one that's barely driven
The main tenets of "smart growth" are to create safe, affordable neighborhoods built with the environment's best interests in mind. They aim to have mixed-use zoning and easy access to public transportation and to promote clean air and water. Along with boasting LEED-certified buildings and other sustainable gold stars, the communities are designed to dramatically reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to downsize their carbon footprint.
A report released recently by the Urban Land Institute found that compact urban development, as opposed to sprawl, could reduce VMT by 20 to 40 percent. Another reported that public transit displaces about 16.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from private vehicles every year. And two other housing studies found that multi-family buildings use an average of almost 50 percent less energy than single-family detached units.
The poster child: Atlantic Station. Based in Midtown Atlanta, Ga., the community is a 138-acre redevelopment of the old Atlantic Steel mill. Started in 1997 and officially opened in 2005, the project will ultimately have 6 million square feet of Class A, LEED-certified office space and 3,000 to 5,000 residential units, planners say.
The whole idea is that people can walk to both work and to their errands or entertainment -- no car necessary. There's a clean-fueled transit shuttle system that carries about 60,000 people a month to and from a nearby transit site, along with a parking garage underground, on top of which is commercial space, on top of which are condominiums.
The result? A puny average of 8.6 miles traveled daily per resident of the site. People who work but don't live in Atlantic Station clock in a bit higher at 12 miles a day -- still comparatively insignificant to a number that can often be in the hundreds for suburbanites with long commutes. In total, their carbon footprint is reduced by about 60 percent because of the mixed-use nature of the project and transportation impacts, according to Brian Leary, vice president for design and retail at AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., one of the development firms that masterminded the project.
Zoning laws still a barrier
For now, the housing crash has put the brakes on most smart-growth development, Goldberg said. There are also several obstacles in the way of the developments, not the least of which is legality.
Leinberger said that in 95 percent of America, only drivable suburban developments can legally be built because of zoning laws and rigid construction regulations like height limits or labor requirements.
"In essence, we have a system that makes the right thing hard and the wrong thing easy," he said. Because there are so many hoops to jump through, he said, a developer will "throw his hands up and say, 'Aw, too much trouble.'" Meanwhile, the suburban fringe is being "massively subsidized" because it's so easy to build there.
Known to be "unbelievably complex and risky," smart-growth projects require a totally new way of development, Leinberger said. He compared it to a race car driver suddenly being told he has to become a fighter jet pilot. "It's a fundamentally different skill set that we in real estate have to learn to pull off that kind of a project," he said.
But he and other experts agree that if laws can be changed, the market for smart-growth communities will skyrocket. Most zoning regulations exist at the local level, but Goldberg said the federal transportation bill, which expires at the end of fiscal year 2009, is the "big mondo policy change that really we gotta take a serious look at." He thinks the bill should shift transportation funding away from encouraging highways and toward encouraging transit systems.
"There are very few people," he said, "who fail to recognize this as some sort of turning point."
A white picket fence, a well-manicured lawn and a cute little house owned by ... a recently graduated twentysomething?
Not so much.
The suburbs, which since World War II have dominated the American real estate scene, are suffering an identity crisis. Baby boomers are nearing retirement age, people are marrying and having kids later in life, and college graduates are flocking to cities. Housing experts say these cultural and aging shifts have slammed the door on the era of urban sprawl.
Add to the mix crippling energy prices, rising awareness of climate change and the glorification of urban lifestyles in hit shows like "Friends" and "Sex and the City," and you've got yourself a housing revolution, experts say.
"With the demographic changes, I think that we are going to see a different development paradigm than we've seen in the past," said David Goldberg, spokesman for Smart Growth America, a national coalition of groups that promotes walkable communities and sustainable development.
But there's only so much city, and not everyone can afford to get it. According to Chris Leinberger, a top land use strategist and director of the graduate real estate program at the University of Michigan, home prices in urban communities have "gone through the roof." As evidence, he cited a recent Brookings Institution study showing a 40 to 200 percent price premium on a price-per-square-foot basis for walkable urban housing.
"That's pent-up demand speaking. That's the market speaking," he said. "I never thought I'd say this, but it's a supply-side problem. We don't have enough supply."
Enter "smart growth" communities, on which Leinberger said developers will place "considerably more focus" when the current housing slump straightens out. Often taking the form of redevelopment projects, such communities feature mixed-use zoning, easy access to public transportation and a general focus on energy-efficient design.
"We have this climate crisis to deal with, and at least a piece of that will be how we deal with transportation," Goldberg said. "The best way to [reduce greenhouse gas emissions] is to meet this rising demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods."
The American Dream, Part 2
Geoff Anderson, president and chief executive of Smart Growth America, noted recently that a real estate consulting firm found about a third of the market wanted to live in walkable urban communities. That figure, he said, is "expected to accelerate because of some demographic changes and changes in buyer preferences."
Changing households are key, he said, noting that in 1960 about 48 percent of households were composed of a mom, a dad and two kids. By 2025, only 28 percent will have that makeup, eliminating issues like transporting a large brood.
Further, as the population grows older, many say they don't want to maintain a large lot and hop in the car for a run to the dry cleaner. "The baby boom generation, as it always has in the U.S., is going to be driving changes," Anderson said.
Job opportunities and the desire for high-density neighborhoods are making urban communities even more popular for young singles and recent graduates, adding more fuel to the smart-growth development fire.
And, Goldberg noted, exurbs were hit hardest by the mortgage crisis, while many urban areas held their value. The suburban market model, he said, is "looking a little shaky these days."
But more intriguing even than changing demographics, experts say, are the ways in which new communities seem to be leading a climate-conscious charge.
"We believe that the asphalt-intensive sprawl that dominates our landscape is no one's idea of the American Dream," Smart Growth America's Web site proclaims.
The most fuel-efficient car is the one that's barely driven
The main tenets of "smart growth" are to create safe, affordable neighborhoods built with the environment's best interests in mind. They aim to have mixed-use zoning and easy access to public transportation and to promote clean air and water. Along with boasting LEED-certified buildings and other sustainable gold stars, the communities are designed to dramatically reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to downsize their carbon footprint.
A report released recently by the Urban Land Institute found that compact urban development, as opposed to sprawl, could reduce VMT by 20 to 40 percent. Another reported that public transit displaces about 16.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from private vehicles every year. And two other housing studies found that multi-family buildings use an average of almost 50 percent less energy than single-family detached units.
The poster child: Atlantic Station. Based in Midtown Atlanta, Ga., the community is a 138-acre redevelopment of the old Atlantic Steel mill. Started in 1997 and officially opened in 2005, the project will ultimately have 6 million square feet of Class A, LEED-certified office space and 3,000 to 5,000 residential units, planners say.
The whole idea is that people can walk to both work and to their errands or entertainment -- no car necessary. There's a clean-fueled transit shuttle system that carries about 60,000 people a month to and from a nearby transit site, along with a parking garage underground, on top of which is commercial space, on top of which are condominiums.
The result? A puny average of 8.6 miles traveled daily per resident of the site. People who work but don't live in Atlantic Station clock in a bit higher at 12 miles a day -- still comparatively insignificant to a number that can often be in the hundreds for suburbanites with long commutes. In total, their carbon footprint is reduced by about 60 percent because of the mixed-use nature of the project and transportation impacts, according to Brian Leary, vice president for design and retail at AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., one of the development firms that masterminded the project.
Zoning laws still a barrier
For now, the housing crash has put the brakes on most smart-growth development, Goldberg said. There are also several obstacles in the way of the developments, not the least of which is legality.
Leinberger said that in 95 percent of America, only drivable suburban developments can legally be built because of zoning laws and rigid construction regulations like height limits or labor requirements.
"In essence, we have a system that makes the right thing hard and the wrong thing easy," he said. Because there are so many hoops to jump through, he said, a developer will "throw his hands up and say, 'Aw, too much trouble.'" Meanwhile, the suburban fringe is being "massively subsidized" because it's so easy to build there.
Known to be "unbelievably complex and risky," smart-growth projects require a totally new way of development, Leinberger said. He compared it to a race car driver suddenly being told he has to become a fighter jet pilot. "It's a fundamentally different skill set that we in real estate have to learn to pull off that kind of a project," he said.
But he and other experts agree that if laws can be changed, the market for smart-growth communities will skyrocket. Most zoning regulations exist at the local level, but Goldberg said the federal transportation bill, which expires at the end of fiscal year 2009, is the "big mondo policy change that really we gotta take a serious look at." He thinks the bill should shift transportation funding away from encouraging highways and toward encouraging transit systems.
"There are very few people," he said, "who fail to recognize this as some sort of turning point."
Friday, July 25, 2008
Victor wins $100k Grant!
This past Spring the City of Victor applied for a very coveted Heart and Soul grant with the help of VARD and Stephanie Thomas (Grant Writer). What do you know, we won! Check out the press release below and keep coming back to this blog for more info about the upcoming process.
ORTON FOUNDATION BEGINS $10 MILLION HEART & SOUL COMMUNITY PLANNING INITIATIVE
Four towns in New England and Rocky Mountain regions selected for a program moving community planning back into the hands of citizens
July 25, 2008
Middlebury, VT -- The Orton Family Foundation has committed $10 million in cash and staff over the next five years in a major new initiative to stem the tide of “anywhere USA” development and help communities strengthen their unique spirit of place as they face growth and change.
Biddeford, ME; Damariscotta, ME; Golden, CO; and Victor, ID (all under 23,000 in population) are the first communities to be awarded $100,000 each plus Foundation staff support to help them tap into their own citizens’ wisdom about what is best for their towns.
For decades, most planning has been top down, with economic growth a driving force behind many land use decisions. “We should challenge the single-minded notion that if it’s good for the economy, approve it,” said Lyman Orton, Board Chair and Founder of the Foundation. “After all, are we just an economy, or are we a society?” Values-based Heart & Soul Community Planning entrusts the future of a town to those who know it best—its citizens.
While growth sustains towns, it can lead to disastrous results without the awareness of an empowered citizenry with a strong identity. In a Heart & Soul planning approach, as many local people as possible first identify the qualities that make their town special. Then those qualities and places most valued are broadly acknowledged and used as touchstones in revising ordinances, reviewing projects and making decisions.
In a series of gatherings, events, meetings, interviews and polling, the four towns will learn to take action to protect and strengthen those assets for the future. In addition to its grants, the Foundation contributes expertise and training on using innovative tools such as CommuntyViz™ visioning and analysis software, keypad polling, online surveys and other ways to increase citizen participation.
“We believe a diversity of citizens have the wisdom and ability to steer the change in their communities,” said Bill Roper, President and CEO of the Foundation. “Through our Heart & Soul initiative, we’re giving people the power and confidence to engage and enhance their unique places for many years to come.
In a collaborative effort with citizen’s groups, non-profits, developers, municipal governments, the planning community and others across the country, the Orton Family Foundation aims to transform planning so that residents can live, work and play in the places they cherish, and ensure that their towns are thriving and livable for their grandchildren.
”We build partnerships to build and sustain community,” said Roper. “We’ve found that when towns have some skin in the game, they are even more determined to work hard for lasting results.” That means each town provides matching funding in a combination of dollars and in-kind contributions. Volunteers, every town’s greatest asset, bring hours of their time and talent to the table, and other partnerships are formed to bring as many views and abilities to the table as possible. The communities were chosen after responding to the Foundation's Request for Proposals.
Nationally, the Foundation is working with many other individuals and organizations to build a Community Heart & Soul network of practitioners, citizens and towns to share ideas, lessons and successes and seed the kind of change that will put the future back into the hands of local residents.
The Orton Family Foundation, based in Middlebury, Vermont, serves cities and towns under 50,000 in population in the Northeast and Rocky Mountain West. It was created in 1995 by Lyman Orton, owner of the Vermont Country Store, and is supported with profits from the Store.
For more information contact:
Joh Barstow, Director of Communications
The Orton Family Foundation
802.388.6336
PO Box 111
Middlebury, VT 05753
communications@orton.org
www.orton.org
ORTON FOUNDATION BEGINS $10 MILLION HEART & SOUL COMMUNITY PLANNING INITIATIVE
Four towns in New England and Rocky Mountain regions selected for a program moving community planning back into the hands of citizens
July 25, 2008
Middlebury, VT -- The Orton Family Foundation has committed $10 million in cash and staff over the next five years in a major new initiative to stem the tide of “anywhere USA” development and help communities strengthen their unique spirit of place as they face growth and change.
Biddeford, ME; Damariscotta, ME; Golden, CO; and Victor, ID (all under 23,000 in population) are the first communities to be awarded $100,000 each plus Foundation staff support to help them tap into their own citizens’ wisdom about what is best for their towns.
For decades, most planning has been top down, with economic growth a driving force behind many land use decisions. “We should challenge the single-minded notion that if it’s good for the economy, approve it,” said Lyman Orton, Board Chair and Founder of the Foundation. “After all, are we just an economy, or are we a society?” Values-based Heart & Soul Community Planning entrusts the future of a town to those who know it best—its citizens.
While growth sustains towns, it can lead to disastrous results without the awareness of an empowered citizenry with a strong identity. In a Heart & Soul planning approach, as many local people as possible first identify the qualities that make their town special. Then those qualities and places most valued are broadly acknowledged and used as touchstones in revising ordinances, reviewing projects and making decisions.
In a series of gatherings, events, meetings, interviews and polling, the four towns will learn to take action to protect and strengthen those assets for the future. In addition to its grants, the Foundation contributes expertise and training on using innovative tools such as CommuntyViz™ visioning and analysis software, keypad polling, online surveys and other ways to increase citizen participation.
“We believe a diversity of citizens have the wisdom and ability to steer the change in their communities,” said Bill Roper, President and CEO of the Foundation. “Through our Heart & Soul initiative, we’re giving people the power and confidence to engage and enhance their unique places for many years to come.
In a collaborative effort with citizen’s groups, non-profits, developers, municipal governments, the planning community and others across the country, the Orton Family Foundation aims to transform planning so that residents can live, work and play in the places they cherish, and ensure that their towns are thriving and livable for their grandchildren.
”We build partnerships to build and sustain community,” said Roper. “We’ve found that when towns have some skin in the game, they are even more determined to work hard for lasting results.” That means each town provides matching funding in a combination of dollars and in-kind contributions. Volunteers, every town’s greatest asset, bring hours of their time and talent to the table, and other partnerships are formed to bring as many views and abilities to the table as possible. The communities were chosen after responding to the Foundation's Request for Proposals.
Nationally, the Foundation is working with many other individuals and organizations to build a Community Heart & Soul network of practitioners, citizens and towns to share ideas, lessons and successes and seed the kind of change that will put the future back into the hands of local residents.
The Orton Family Foundation, based in Middlebury, Vermont, serves cities and towns under 50,000 in population in the Northeast and Rocky Mountain West. It was created in 1995 by Lyman Orton, owner of the Vermont Country Store, and is supported with profits from the Store.
For more information contact:
Joh Barstow, Director of Communications
The Orton Family Foundation
802.388.6336
PO Box 111
Middlebury, VT 05753
communications@orton.org
www.orton.org
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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.
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.
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