By GARY MARKS
Gary marks is Ketchum city administrator.
A letter writer (June 24) expressed concern that Mayor Randy Hall and the Ketchum City Council are "procrastinating" in reference to this year's budget process. As the city administrator, I want to assure the public that the city's budget is well underway and is continuing at an aggressive pace in accordance with the budget calendar. I can also testify that elected officials have been very attentive and responsible in addressing the city's changing financial conditions.
The city began its public process to formulate next year's budget at the June 1 City Council meeting. At that meeting I provided the council and public with an extensive preliminary budget overview, illustrated through a 90-slide PowerPoint presentation (on the city's Web site, www.ketchumidaho.org).
The presentation provided extensive analysis of current revenue and expenditure trends, local economic indicators, a review of the city's financial position and a statement of its organizational values as applied to the budget process. I explained in detail the steps being taken to reform the process around a sound and methodical budget planning approach. I also presented a preliminary fiscal 2009-10 budget framework for anticipated revenues and expenditures in the city's six largest funds and a listing of several budget objectives.
The 2009-10 budget objectives serve as a broad outline for the proposed budget, which will be presented Aug. 10. These objectives include the implementation of several public budgeting "best practices." For example, next year's budget will segregate restricted revenue sources, such as the local-option tax and state gasoline tax revenues, from the general fund. This will provide the public with increased transparency in the use of these important public monies.
The city has also set objectives addressing maintenance of a responsible level of fund balance in the general fund, a short-term strategy to manage the water fund pending a thorough master-planning process, an evaluation of contracted versus in-house engineering support to determine the best use of tax dollars, and development of a cost-allocation strategy that more accurately reflects the costs of the city's various services.
Other budget objectives include streamlining efforts such as consolidating multiple water and sewer funds—one each for operations, capital outlay and debt service—into single, comprehensive funds for each utility. These actions will allow the public to quickly understand funding levels and the costs of operating these utilities.
Finally, a new, streamlined budget format will clearly show budget trends, cash balances and uses of public funds.
The city's budget is undergoing a significant overhaul that will bring new efficiencies for managing the public's money. It will also make our budget document much easier to understand. Work to finish these objections will continue through July and into early August.
A special meeting of the City Council is scheduled for Aug. 10 to hear budget presentations from the city's management team and to discuss the proposed budget. The city's budget calendar calls for additional meetings on Aug. 11 and 12, if necessary, with a public hearing tentatively scheduled for Sept. 8. I am confident that the public will have ample time to review and comment on the fiscal 2009-10 budget. Further, I believe the community will find much to like about the new budget.
