10/01/1990 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Mr. Wong reminded the council that Oregon State Statute requires that the adopted budget be balanced every year. The City took several actions to reconcile the projected deficit with the forecast, including: reducing its operational requirements, budgeting less for Contingency Funds and capital projects than planned, eliminating Tax Anticipation Notes (TAN) in the Debt Service, reducing transfers, and reducing the rate of growth of the end working capital. Mr. Holmer remarked that it is a tragedy that the City only budgets $1.4 million annually for capital maintenance. Responding to a comment from Mr. Rutan, Mr. Gleason said that the current forecasting formula has been successful for the City. He added that staff makes all budget decisions based on adopted council policies. Responding to a question from Ms. Bascom, Mr. Gleason indicated that in all systems for which the City relies on user fees to generate revenue, the City has been able to maintain high-quality services and reasonable rates. He provided 9-1-1 as an example of such a successful system. He advised that effective policy review is sufficient to monitor these systems. (At 6:05 p.m., the council recessed for 15 minutes.) Mr. Rutan suggested that the City undertake a strategic financial planning process. In order to facilitate this, he recommended the formation of a committee composed of City Council and Budget Committee members to look at e the possibility of implementing such a process. He explained that the process would involve gathering information from the community about its priorities for fiscal planning from which the City would make its budgetary decisions. Mr. Rutan also suggested that the City contract with an independent auditor to evaluate the City's long-term financial planning process. Mr. Boles echoed support for a strategic planning process but emphasized the importance of having a fast turnaround on the results. Referring to the Six-Year Financial Forecast, Mr. Boles said that the City does itself a disservice by not recognizing that the forecast is consistently off by $5 million. Ms. Eaton said she would support a strategic planning strategy if it would encourage the City to adjust and correct for past budgeting problems. She stressed the need to begin such a process qUickly. Responding to a request for clarification from Ms. Ehrman, Mr. Wong explained that the goal of a strategic planning process is to plan for the future of an organization based on consensus of those involved, often gauged through an extensive feedback/involvement process. He advised that if the council was interested in this, it gather information from other communities who have been involved with this type of process. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 1, 1990 Page 4