Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Important dates
Suddenly, there is a lot going on in terms of meetings. I guess it is because everyone is back from summer vacation season. As just one example, the parks board's first discussion about street ends at lakes will be tonight at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
One set of meetings is often neglected, but is always interesting. These are the meetings at which the Lakewood City Council sketch out the budget for the coming year. These meetings usually set the record for low public attendance. And yet they are arguably the most important meetings of the year. I thought last year's budget missed the mark, and voted no. I am not apologizing; it's very well known around town that the city is way behind on cracking down on junked properties. Anyone who attended last year's budget hearings could have known last fall that this would happen in 2007. And that's just one example of how much is at stake.
Speaking of that, if you followed last year's discussion, you know that we had a lot of fuss about how many police officers should be assigned to each neighborhood patrol district. If you have strong feelings about that subject, can you send me a note? I may need your help making the point to others.
Anyway, this year's budget hearings will be held on the second floor of City Hall. One thing that City Manager Andrew Neiditz is trying this year is a thematic approach, instead of just having departments line up in random order. The meetings will all be at 6 p.m.:
Wednesday,
October 3
Introduction/Overview
Administration
• Finance
• IS
• HR
• General Services
• Executive
• Council
Monday,
October 15
Public Safety
• Police
• Court
• Legal
Wednesday,
October 17
Development
• Community Development
• Economic Development
• Public Works
Monday,
October 22
Development
• Parks
• Capital Projects
• Lodging Tax
• Grants
Monday,
October 29
Review
If you are interested in a particular topic, please come on by. These meetings are where the important decisions get made.
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One set of meetings is often neglected, but is always interesting. These are the meetings at which the Lakewood City Council sketch out the budget for the coming year. These meetings usually set the record for low public attendance. And yet they are arguably the most important meetings of the year. I thought last year's budget missed the mark, and voted no. I am not apologizing; it's very well known around town that the city is way behind on cracking down on junked properties. Anyone who attended last year's budget hearings could have known last fall that this would happen in 2007. And that's just one example of how much is at stake.
Speaking of that, if you followed last year's discussion, you know that we had a lot of fuss about how many police officers should be assigned to each neighborhood patrol district. If you have strong feelings about that subject, can you send me a note? I may need your help making the point to others.
Anyway, this year's budget hearings will be held on the second floor of City Hall. One thing that City Manager Andrew Neiditz is trying this year is a thematic approach, instead of just having departments line up in random order. The meetings will all be at 6 p.m.:
Wednesday,
October 3
Introduction/Overview
Administration
• Finance
• IS
• HR
• General Services
• Executive
• Council
Monday,
October 15
Public Safety
• Police
• Court
• Legal
Wednesday,
October 17
Development
• Community Development
• Economic Development
• Public Works
Monday,
October 22
Development
• Parks
• Capital Projects
• Lodging Tax
• Grants
Monday,
October 29
Review
If you are interested in a particular topic, please come on by. These meetings are where the important decisions get made.
