Our Budget Preparation Process
The Town of River Bend employs a progressive and transparent
budget development process that allows for significant participation
from elected officials, advisory boards, staff, and the public.
The process formally begins with a Council Retreat in November
where the Council discusses its priorities for the coming fiscal year
in terms of how they respond to the Town’s Mission Statement. The
Finance Officer, at this retreat, leads some general discussion about
the current fiscal year, and trends observed that might impact the
budget planning process. The Council also agrees, at this retreat, to
a schedule of budget workshops. Click here for a display that shows
how each Council priority, established for Fiscal Year 2010-11,
responds to the Town’s overall mission statement.
In January of this year, a detailed list of the dates and subject matter
of seven budget workshops was made available to our residents
through a brochure mailed in water bills and available at Town Hall,
and through required publication of the notice of these special
meetings of the Town Council. Click here to view this brochure.
At these workshops, the professional staff presents details of
revenue and expenses in each fund. Through direct interaction with
the Council in a less formal setting, the staff is able to get the
consensus of the elected body in terms of the details contained in
the budget. The Council is also able to hear from residents who
attend these sessions in an informal setting. Each week, as changes
are made, the Council receives updated pages for their “budget
books”. These books, maintained and updated by the Town Clerk,
allow the staff to lead the Council in an organized discussion, and
allows the members to find information quickly. Following the last
of these workshops, the professional staff prepares the Budget
Message and the document you are reading as a way to provide
detailed information to all interested citizens.
The next step in our process is to advertise and conduct a public
hearing to receive comments from interested parties relative to the
budget under consideration. This is a formal hearing, and far from
the less formal opportunity citizens have for input during the
workshops. Typically, this hearing is conducted at the regular Town
Council meeting in May. The final step is the vote to adopt the
budget, which typically occurs at the regular Town Council meeting
in June. Of course, following the public hearing the Council may
decide to hold additional public work sessions to modify the budget
before it is formerly adopted.
The Town of River Bend employs a progressive and transparent
budget development process that allows for significant participation
from elected officials, advisory boards, staff, and the public.
The process formally begins with a Council Retreat in November
where the Council discusses its priorities for the coming fiscal year
in terms of how they respond to the Town’s Mission Statement. The
Finance Officer, at this retreat, leads some general discussion about
the current fiscal year, and trends observed that might impact the
budget planning process. The Council also agrees, at this retreat, to
a schedule of budget workshops. Click here for a display that shows
how each Council priority, established for Fiscal Year 2010-11,
responds to the Town’s overall mission statement.
In January of this year, a detailed list of the dates and subject matter
of seven budget workshops was made available to our residents
through a brochure mailed in water bills and available at Town Hall,
and through required publication of the notice of these special
meetings of the Town Council. Click here to view this brochure.
At these workshops, the professional staff presents details of
revenue and expenses in each fund. Through direct interaction with
the Council in a less formal setting, the staff is able to get the
consensus of the elected body in terms of the details contained in
the budget. The Council is also able to hear from residents who
attend these sessions in an informal setting. Each week, as changes
are made, the Council receives updated pages for their “budget
books”. These books, maintained and updated by the Town Clerk,
allow the staff to lead the Council in an organized discussion, and
allows the members to find information quickly. Following the last
of these workshops, the professional staff prepares the Budget
Message and the document you are reading as a way to provide
detailed information to all interested citizens.
The next step in our process is to advertise and conduct a public
hearing to receive comments from interested parties relative to the
budget under consideration. This is a formal hearing, and far from
the less formal opportunity citizens have for input during the
workshops. Typically, this hearing is conducted at the regular Town
Council meeting in May. The final step is the vote to adopt the
budget, which typically occurs at the regular Town Council meeting
in June. Of course, following the public hearing the Council may
decide to hold additional public work sessions to modify the budget
before it is formerly adopted.
| Meeting Information Here are the dates for the seven scheduled Budget Workshops March 9th March 16th March 23rd March 30th April 6th April 13th April 20th Click here to view the topics scheduled to be discussed on each of these days. This tentative schedule of budget workshops outlines the dates of these sessions and the proposed topics to be discussed during each session. While the Town Council and staff do their best to adhere to the printed schedule, there are times when deviation is necessary in order to accommodate adequate discussion of items scheduled for consideration. So, if time or information does not allow for complete discussion of a scheduled item, that item will be taken up at the beginning of the subsequent session. |
| Budget Presentations At each session, the staff presents information on each topic under consideration. These presentations are prepared in PowerPoint. While the slides themselves do not give the level of detail presented at the session, they do give the viewer a greater understanding of some of the expenses included in this budget. Handouts of these presentations are available in the Town Clerk's office, as are "Guest Books" that you may review in Town Hall to keep up with what is going on in the sessions that you cannot attend. |
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| Adopted Budgets Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Fiscal Year 2010-2011 |