City Budget Priorities

So What Can We Do?

Change Often Happens by Retirement

Perhaps. But change may be in the wind. We can wait a couple of years. The Final Four of the Big Eight are about to retire. For the first time in decades, the City Manager, if we can keep him, (I hope we do) will have hired the majority of department heads. We may restore genuine City Manager government. The old guard of Plan Boulder and Sierra Club, will also retire. They have not done a great job rejuvenating themselves.

We Can Call the Roll Up Yonder

We can actually read the audited financial statements, holding staff and Council responsible for the outcome. We can especially review progress on capital project spending, and ask hard questions about huge cash balances in our restricted funds. We can stop the mindless creation of new funds, and the goggle-eyed spinning of new taxes unless there is a darn good reason. We can merge funds. There is no need to merge all funds. But I think the following funds, by their nature, ought to be merged with the general fund.

1. Transportation Fund
2. .15 Cent Sales Tax Fund
3. .25 Cent Sales Tax Fund
4. Public Safety Property and Sales Tax Fund
5. Library Fund
6. Permanent Parks and Recreation Fund

Make the Budget Process the Forum for Priorities, not the Ballot Box

This process would take years, and, ironically many trips to the ballot box. It would force City Council to make actual appropriation decisions during the budget process. We can make the budget process, not the ballot box, the public forum for financial priority setting. We can express a preference for good city government rather than utopian project management.