|
In Seattle, the mayor has the responsibility for drawing up a proposed city budget. After hearing from city departments, the mayor refines department requests and delivers a proposed budget to the City Council in late September. The council then examines the mayor’s proposals in detail, measures expenditures against the council’s stated priorities and, finally, every two years brings forth a biennial budget.
The budget must balance – expenditures matching expected revenues – and it must be done by December 1.
The council approves the first year’s budget and endorses a second year’s budget. In so-called "little budget" years, the council reviews and makes adjustments to the budget drawn up in the prior "big budget" year.
It sounds daunting and it is. In fact, examining, considering, reordering, adjusting and overseeing the budget takes the better part of two months. Other council business is generally put on hold until the budget is approved.
It is, without a doubt, THE most important work the council undertakes.
In a city the size of Seattle, the budgetary document is the size of a metropolitan phone book. But, for those who care about policy, it is a candid picture of the city’s priorities and a roadmap for the future.
Passage of a budget is so important that, ideally, it should involve the citizenry. It works best if it takes a village, enlisting citizens, elected officials and council staff and analysts.
The city’s budget process was the focus of a Citizens Budget Conference held Feb. 10 at the Seattle Center. The nuts and bolts of the process kicked off the discussion, but also highlighted were departmental panels and a dialogue about "how to make the budget work for you."
Here are some of the tips from councilmembers who spoke at the conference about the best way to affect the budget:
Return to Top
Tips on getting City support for your neighborhood project:
The City is often interested in supporting neighborhood initiative and projects, but resources are limited and the City simply cannot fund all worthy projects. Within these constraints, the following suggestions may prove helpful in seeking assistance from the City.
Review Existing Programs First. Programs such as the Neighborhood Matching Fund and the Neighborhood Street Fund may provide opportunities for support from in existing programs resources. The Department of Neighborhoods, the Seattle Transportation, and other City agencies can help review potential eligibility for such programs.
Start early. Talk to your elected leaders and department leadership about your budget request. It works best to start in spring when department heads are putting together their requests for consideration by the mayor. The mayor prepares a proposed budget during the summer for presentation to the City Council in late September. During the fall budget process, the nine elected councilmembers review the mayor’s budget. They make changes, adding or subtracting items.
It’s far more effective to ask the mayor for consideration of a budget item early in the process than to wait for the budget to come to council and try to add the item later. Since the mayor submits a balanced budget, adding that means an equal amount must be excluded, not an easy thing to do.
Use a fact-based argument. When proposing a budget addition, citizens should come prepared to describe the project and present facts that support the addition or continuation of funding for that program. While anecdotal information and real-life stories are helpful, it is best to start with the facts.
State your goals clearly. Be clear and specific about what you are trying to achieve and document what you are requesting from the city.
Show broad-based support. The broader the backing for your project, the better. Letters from supporting organizations, community councils, chambers of commerce and neighborhood district councils can provide needed momentum for your request.
Link your request to a neighborhood plan or to a council priority. It helps immeasurably if you can show that your request relates to a specific council objective or a neighborhood plan priority.
Show support from other sources. If you can pinpoint financial support available from other sources, it makes a far better case for your project. The opportunity to leverage other funds makes a good argument for city support.
And once again, it doesn’t hurt to reiterate that the best way to obtain city support is to get your request in at the beginning.
Return to Top
Tips On Getting City Support For Your Human Services Program:
The City supports a variety of human services programs through funding provided to Human Services Department. As part of the annual budget process, the Council and Mayor appropriate funds for general program areas in the Human Services Department and generally do not appropriate funds to a specific organization or agency. The Council considers allocations at the general programmatic level and is of course open to input about which program areas should be considered a priority. However, the Human Services Department is charged with distributing the funding that is appropriated for each program area. This is done via a request-for-proposal process that allows all human service providers to fairly compete for City funding. Organizations that wish to obtain City support for a human services program should contact the Human Services Department to find out when the next RFP will be held for their particular program area.
Return to Top
To receive committee information, email Monica Ghosh
or call us at (206) 684-8807.
Telephone and After Hours Message Line: (206) 684-8888
|
Mayor Presents Budget
Departmental Presentations
Public Hearing
Issue Identification
Presentation & Discussion of Options (Round 1)
Final Decisions & Votes (Round 2)
Committee Adopts 2009-2010 Budget
Full Council Adopts 2009-2010 Budget
