The amount of say the City Council has in shaping the upcoming 2021 budget remained undetermined, if the conversation at the weekly strategic planning meeting is anything to go on. The Council is already beginning to look ahead to helping form the budget for the new year, but the amount of influence the council would have on the city’s budget was unclear.
“We get the budget from the mayor, now what can this council do? Is this an up and down vote, is it a line item?” asked Vice Chairman Chip Henderson.
“It does say in the code that the budget is to be presented and passed, prepared and passed by the mayor and the City Council,” said City Attorney Phil Noblett when asked about what the law says.
Councilwoman Carol Berz pointed out that each of the departments would put out a report (or at least they are supposed to), and then the council could use the information to build the budget.
“The way the council puts input into them so they can sit in their meetings and do their thing is in the front end, because we have a mission statement and a plan of work,” she said. "So it’s our responsibility to make sure that from a legislative point of view, this is carried out. So each council person would meet with their respective department heads to see how funding was and what we need to do next year.”
However, the law did not make it clear how involved the council would actually be in defining the budget, or if they simply were going to approve it. Councilman Darrin Ledford mused that it was something like a “Christmas present” that was shown to the council after the mayor and his staff created it.
Vice Chairman Henderson said, “I think it makes it fairly clear, that in section 8.52, 'the mayor shall propose and present' what we’ve called this grand reveal. I think that 'prepare' may take on different forms. I think that the council had an input into our goals and what we want to see, and making that known to the mayor."
“To me, that is not clearly worded as to what that modifying would look like,” said Vice Chairman Henderson when he spoke about the council’s ability to modify the budget. “I think that is where we all may need a little more explanation as to what that wording looks like.”
After an hour of discussion about the council’s abilities and function in regard to the budget, Councilwoman Demetrus Coonrod said, “I just feel like we’re going around in circles. We should be having conversations before the mayor comes to us and says, 'What do you need from me to pass this budget?' At that point we can’t put it in the budget because the budget is already created.”
To end the conversation, Councilman Ledford wished for clarification on how the council would go about modifying the budget if there were disagreements, assuming the council had the power to do so.
“Phil, is a line item modification something that involves five votes,” asked Councilman Darrin Ledford about how the council would decide upon modifying the budget.
Attorney Noblett replied by saying, “It says modify in your charter. So that means by five votes, if you are not willing to approve the budget or something in it, that’s modification. So yes.”
The City Council will continue to discuss the budget in future meetings.