City council’s 2024 budget discussions have barely begun, and already, city administration wants to add an extra day because of the report’s length and “a few difficult” items that require discussion.
During its Dec. 4 regular meeting, council 6-1 to change the start time of the Monday, Dec. 18 regular meeting from 4 p.m. to 2 p.m., with the executive committee meeting to follow afterward.
The mayor will then direct the assistant city clerk to call a special council meeting immediately following the executive meeting to address — and hopefully finish — next year’s budget.
Coun. Kim Robinson was opposed.
City administration had already set the budget deliberation meetings weeks ago, with those dates including Nov. 29, Wednesday, Dec. 6, Monday, Dec. 11 and Wednesday, 13.
However, an additional special meeting is required to cover the “number and complexity” of reports that city administration is putting forward and that council must adopt before the 2024 fiscal year, a council report said. Regular and executive council meetings are already scheduled for Dec. 18, so administration wants to start them earlier to facilitate the extra special budget meeting.
In an email attached to the report, finance director Brian Acker told city manager Maryse Carmichael, “Given the length of our agenda and a few difficult agenda items, I think we may need some additional meeting time.
“I am wondering if we couldn’t keep the agenda short for the Dec. 18 council and exec meeting and follow it with a special council meeting to finish off (the) budget,” he added. “I would suggest we start early (at) 2 p.m. with (a) regular meeting and then go right into budget once complete … .
“If you don’t think this works, then likely we will need to push (completing the) budget into January 2024.”
Council discussion
Coun. Crystal Froese thought adding a fifth budget meeting made sense.
“I know we’ve got lots to debate in this budget and I think that it’s good that we plan this,” she said.
While Coun. Dawn Luhning was OK with 2 p.m., she pointed out that early meeting times are difficult for her because of her full-time job. She also understood that it is budget season and that, as a councillor, she may have to attend meetings that potentially run until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.
“That’s fine. It’s not a hill I’m going to die on,” she added. “(But) I know I’m not the only one working full-time around this table. … If everybody is OK with (2 p.m.), then so am I.”
Robinson — who also has a full-time job — agreed with Luhning about accepting late meetings, while he thought council seemed to have more public meetings that started earlier in the day, which made it difficult for residents to attend. Thus, he opposed the motion.
Coun. Heather Eby was glad that council was being proactive and planning for a longer meeting, while she thought they would be fine with any start time. Moreover, she wanted to ensure they approved the budget before Christmas.
Conversely, she also agreed that 2 p.m. made it tough for the public to watch or listen. However, she hoped that anyone interested would attempt to tune in.
Reflecting on the “olden days,” Eby said council started its meetings at 6:30 p.m. and sometimes went until midnight. While it was the same length as now, going that late made it difficult to make good decisions. So, starting earlier allows council to have a clear mind, while city administration won’t have to spend over 12 hours at city hall.
“We need to finish this budget before Christmas. In past years, it’s dragged into January,” said Mayor Clive Tolley. “… I do not want to hold this over until the new year.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Dec. 18.
