To the editor:
Once again, three months too early as usual, budget season is underway at City Hall and once again nothing has changed.
Since the turnover in council members with seven fresh faces all promising to do things differently and get to the bottom of our issues, absolutely nothing is different.
Staff are still running the show with council going through the motions of acting on behalf of taxpayers.
Last year's budget was approved by council virtually unchanged. The “dog and pony show” of requesting public input is organized and timed to occur well after all the i’s have been dotted and t’s have been crossed on the agenda.
According to the recently released 2024 Water Department budget, personnel costs in 2022 amounted to $4,898.780. Two years later in 2024, the budget for salaries and benefits is $6,249,086. This represents a 27.5% increase over the two years. This is a result of staff continuing to submit, and by council members continuing to accept, reports that utilize the prior year's budget figures for comparison, instead of the prior year's actual, and as a result tax increases of this magnitude are actually designed to go unnoticed and unchallenged.
The opportunity for public input that I have experienced over the years consisted of allowing 10-minute presentations after the budget has been approved by the general government committee and presented to council.
This is long after there is any real interest to change the end result, and nullifies any opportunity to challenge any positions taken by staff. The current opportunities for public input show a genuine lack of any interest by council in public participation being part of the process.
Real public participation occurs very early in the budget process.
Public participation includes a two-way communication between citizens and officials which means a back-and-forth discussion. Citizen input must be considered by decision-makers and include a realistic explanation of why they are accepting or rejecting the input.
Clearly, these review requirements of the stated policy are not being met.
Donald Rennick CPA, CA
North Bay
