Monday, September 25, 2006
The budget process begins
The Lakewood City Council will meet almost every Monday and Wednesday night in October to discuss the groundwork for a two-year city budget. This is where the council's real work for 2006 will be done. The budget will represent this council's best guess on what should happen spending-wise in 2007 and 2008. That means police and public safety ... and parks, and roads, and more.
Before we all dive in together, I wanted to offer a thoughtful column that appeared in the Spokane Journal of Business. It's worth reading to set a tone for what will follow in Lakewood in October. You won't hear any talk of tax increases here. But the column otherwise sets the stage for an understanding of how municipal budgets work these days.
What you will see between now and Oct. 4 will be a flurry of activity to try to 'clear the decks' before the budget workshops consume the rest of October. I'll keep in touch.
Forward this post
Before we all dive in together, I wanted to offer a thoughtful column that appeared in the Spokane Journal of Business. It's worth reading to set a tone for what will follow in Lakewood in October. You won't hear any talk of tax increases here. But the column otherwise sets the stage for an understanding of how municipal budgets work these days.
What you will see between now and Oct. 4 will be a flurry of activity to try to 'clear the decks' before the budget workshops consume the rest of October. I'll keep in touch.
