Moving Into Phase Two

On Monday evening, we will hold another public meeting on the FY2012 budget. This meeting will start at 6pm at the McNair Administration Building on Groby Road. If you have thoughts on the draft budget that was released on February 28th, or thoughts on budgeting, spending, and our priorities in general, I hope you will consider coming to the meeting to share them.

This will be the fourth public meeting held on the FY2012 budget since last October. Two more are scheduled before the City Council approves a final budget. That vote has to take place no later than June 27th.

You may not know it, but these meetings are part of a NEW budget process for the City.

When I came on the City Council, the first time, in April of 2002, it was a shock to realize I had to review a hundreds-page budget proposal that was presented to the Council at the end of that month.  We had only two months, from the end of April until the end of June to review, revise, and take a vote on a  budget of about $25,000,000.  Just two months.  That’s not ever easy to do – and it’s especially difficult when you are new to the Council.

I thought then that there had to be a better way.  And we’ve found it.

Last October, we started the process for the budget that begins in July of 2011.  We scheduled three public hearing and five separate budget study sessions for the Council prior to February.  The City Manager was asked to present a DRAFT budget to us no later than February 28th.

That has worked well. Now we are on to Phase Two.

We will have another series of public meetings, starting on Monday – where residents can comment on the specifics found in the draft budget.  This series will include the “official” public hearing on the budget which we are required to hold.

We’ve already had one study session for City Council – and heard from the Police and Fire Chiefs on their departments’ budgets.  We have two additional study sessions scheduled so far.  We will get detailed presentations on the administrative budgets, and the budget of the Department of Community Development on Monday, March 28th.  And we will hear about Parks, Recreation & Forestry and Public Works on April 11th.  A few more study sessions will be scheduled on dates still to be determined.

I believe each member of Council will understand the specifics of our FY 2012 budget.  And I believe our residents will understand it better too, if they choose to take the time to take part in this process.

Quite frankly, that’s always a challenge.

Although our City budget affects each and every resident in some way, very few take part in these budget meetings.  (And other public hearings too, actually.)  The budget is a long document, very detailed.  And decisions have to be made as part of the whole.  Each of us is better prepared to comment on recommendation A or B if we have a sense of the whole.  And that sense comes from diving into the numbers. So…..I encourage you to check out the DRAFT proposed budget – linking to it at the City’s homepage at http://www.ucitymo.org. Then come to at least one of the budget meetings and let us know what you think.  They are scheduled as follows:

Monday, March 21st, 6p, McNair Administration Building

Monday, April 18th, 6p, Mt. Gideon M.B. Church at 6505 Etzel

Monday, May 23rd, 6:30p in the Council Chamber

We want to hear from you.

City Manager Lehman Walker has presented the Council with a balanced budget for FY 2012, when a $900,000 deficit had been predicted prior to his arrival.  He has done this with no cuts in services and no tax hikes.  That’s good news.

But remember, the Missouri House still might be voting on House Bill 534 that, if passed, would be a hit of about $2,000,000 on our budget.  So…if you have not already done so, please contact your State Representative and ask for a NO vote on House Bill 534 if and when it comes to the House floor. Our University City State Representatives are:

Susan Carlson, District 64

Rory Ellinger, District 72

Jake Zimmerman, District 83

Link to the members through http://www.house.mo.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills081/member/memmail.htm

If you would like more detail on that bill before you contact them, please check out a Point/Counterpoint article in this week’s Citizen Journal. You can link to that article at:  http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/metro/news/article_0bf26672-ad8a-50e5-8818-9072248113ef.html .

Again, on to June 27th and a vote on the budget for FY 2012.  Then we will start the process all over again.

Let us hear from you.

Mayor Shelley Welsch