On January 28th, the Council will hold a special Budget Committee meeting at 6:30 pm at the Upper Rogue Community Center.  This will be an opportunity for the public to weigh in on the budget and priorities for how our money is spent for FY 2010-11.
  Last fall, we saw yet another run at  "your money" when the Council approved the expenditure of $120,000 for two new trucks for the Public Works Department.  Adequate vehicles for that department could have been purchased outright for a fraction of the two lease contracts approved.  Only one citizen, Bud Rees, was on hand to witness this blatant waste of resources, but of course he was not allowed to protest until after the deed was done.  Fortunately for all of us, the interim administrator who took over after the departure of the city administrator last October was able to stop the leases before they were executed and has vowed to find a more reasonable and cost effective way to provide the necessary vehicles for the department.
  The Budget Committee Meeting on April 20^th (morning session, afternoon session) was a much more thorough and comprehensive inspection and analysis of the proposed budget than has been the case in years past.  For example in 2005, the City Administrator boasted to the Oregon City/County Management Association that the budget had been approved in a matter of a few hours.  That kind of exercise allows for little in the way of analysis to take place by either the budget committee or the public.   The Administrator continued to emphasize our 54.7 cents/thousand tax rate to this group.  In our current budget, this property tax rate accounts for only 12% of the total budget.  Unless this is clearly understood, it distorts the picture of the resources our city government has to run the city.
    Getting back to the budget meetings in April, although there were only a few members of the public in attendance, those who did attend were given ample opportunity to make comments and ask questions.  We commend the Mayor/Budget Committee President for this inclusive process.  This budget as approved by the budget committee will still need to be adopted by the Council before the beginning of the new fiscal year on July 1.  An summary of the approved budget will be published in the Upper Rogue Independent in the next few weeks.  A public hearing will be held at a special Council meeting on June 25, 2009 at 6:30 pm at City Hall for the purpose of taking public comment regarding the proposed budget.  This is an opportunity for all citizens to let their elected officials know how they feel about the way in which their public resources are being utilized.  We hope to see you there.