I forwarded Victoria Hellers post a few days ago to Council Member Barret Lane and asked him to respond. He asked me to post this message for him:
I think it is fair to say that there is, as yet, no complete plan for which the Mayor and Council takes ownership. However, we have made substantial progress toward that goal. Here is a status report, from my perspective: The objective is basically this: Bring property-tax supported expenditures, including past deficits, into line with reasonably available revenues by 2010 while at the same time preserving as much of the current service level in core city businesses as possible. We will move into five-year planning mode as the means to make this happen. Part of the plan is already known. First, we have developed a diagnostic tool (the ten-year projection) and we have used that tool to communicate the problem to relevant stakeholders. The projection is incorporated into the Mayor's recommended budget. So, the scope of the project is generally known and generally accepted within and without City government. That is a major accomplishment in and of itself. People have to understand the need for change before they will support it. Second, we have adopted financial principles. We have returned to these to make sure we are sticking to our agreement with one another as to what values will drive our decision-making. Third, we have set some outside parameters on resources. Whatever is done to bring expenses in line with revenues will be done within the context of the 8% levy policy. That is, we have defined the size of the pie. Fourth, we must make decisions about how the pie is divided between functions (public safety, public works, development, etc.) for purposes of planning for the next five years. This has been the focus of six strategic planning retreats which conclude this week. The mayor and council will be adopting new City goals and objectives to facilitate creating five-year plans. The focus will shift from yearly cuts to total available resources over time. Fifth, the Council and Mayor's decisions about how long-term resources will be allocated will be turned over to the City's professional management for development of five-year business plans. As part of this process, the council and mayor will have to weigh alternative strategies for delivering a maximum amount of the current service level within the financial restraints dictated by the levy policy and our strategic plan. We may have to consider whether we can fund all of the commitments we have made or whether we will need to scale back on some commitments. At this point, it is too early to say what those strategies or choices will be. While there is no date set for the plans to be approved, I suspect that they will be before the council in the first quarter of 2003. Finally, the Mayor's budget for 2003 is, in my opinion, a transitional budget. It is a bridge between the year-by-year budget process of the past and the proposed five-year process. Adoption of the budget for this year will set the stage for the changes to come. Barret W.S. Lane Council Member -- Ward 13 Fulton Neighborhood Victorias post: > It would be nice to hear from the Mayor and Council on the looming BUDGET > CRISIS!!!!! > > What's the plan for whacking at the $1.5 Billion worth of DEBT? > > What's the plan for closing the $237 million SPENDING DEFICIT? > > What's the plan for collecting from old and new DEADBEATS? > > I don't think it does much good for Listmembers to debate these issues - > because we have no authority to ACT. Darn. > > Could we please hear from the people we pay to address these problems. > > Vicky Heller > North Oaks and Cedar-Riverside > > _______________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
