Board of Aldermen — 4/25/17 Page 3
budget as we are, who are not as familiar with city government, more insight into what the departments do,
what their objectives are. | think if we continue to improve on this approach over the next few years, we can
add significant transparency for members of the public as to what the city is up to. For example, we could also
include for the use of the public a very short, 3 or 4 or 5 line budget that kind of sketches each department’s
wages and other things to give people more insight of what is going on.
One new item, new approach in the budget that | hope you will consider is that within the capital improvement
budget | have included $200,000 for citizen participatory budgeting. What the proposal is, and | will give you
details soon as to how this could work, and it would have to be adopted by you, and this is an approach that
has been taken in various communities around the country, this small portion of the capital improvement
budget we would solicit public ideas as to small capital improvement projects that people would really like to
see. Through a process similar to the review and comment commission, we would develop and vet these
ideas using volunteers and, of course review them by staff as well, and narrow it down to 8 or 10 projects
which then the public could vote on. We would learn what people would really want. Those projects that
received the most votes we would consider approving for implementation using the $200,000 figure. We could
do two $100,000 projects or four $50,000, whatever the public thinks is the best. | think this way we could get
more involvement by citizens in our government. | think we could come up with projects which we would be
surprised by but with which we would be pleasantly surprised by. Final decisions would still have to be made
by the Board of Aldermen, but in the same way we really improve the recommendations made by the
downtown improvement committee. We could use that approach in basically adopting, unless serious errors
we think are made, the projects that are approved, developed and ultimately favored by the public. I'll be
giving you more on that idea over the next few weeks, but that you will see as one line item in the budget.
| think, Mr. President, that gives you a good summary of what is going on. Of course the schedule of reviews
has already been established by the budget committee, and | think they begin this week. You will learn and
see more of the details as the presentations unfold. Thank you very much, Mr. President, that’s all | have.
RESPONSE TO REMARKS OF THE MAYOR
Alderman Cookson
It will probably be discussed in budget, but if you could just give us again the guidance that you provided the
different departments within the city: police, fire, school as far as what their expectation was for a budget
percentage and then what they came back in and what you are presenting within your budget for each one of
those departments. Just police, fire, education and public works please.
Mayor Donchess
The police and fire were each 2.9 percent, which maintains current services. Education was 1.9, and public
works was 1.3 or 1.4. They all met those. Well, the schools came in at 2 percent, and | cut it to 1.9 roughly.
Alderman Cookson
Thank you.
RECOGNITION PERIOD — None
READING MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
MOTION BY ALDERMAN WILSHIRE THAT THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING
OF APRIL 11, 2017, BE ACCEPTED, PLACED ON FILE, AND THE READING SUSPENDED
MOTION CARRIED
