Budget process fosters appreciation

An article in last week’s Gazette signaled that we are approaching budget time for the McCook City Council again. It’s a process fundamental to the operation of all municipalities, and whether we are interested in the inner workings of government or just enjoy complaining about it, it’s worthy of our attention.

The City of McCook follows the Federal October-through-September schedule, which is a bit of a story unto itself. The current Federal Schedule was established as part of the 1974 “Budget and Impoundment Control Act.” The act was an effort to limit control by then-President Richard Nixon, establishing the Congressional Budget Office and moving the traditional July through June fiscal year to the current October through September year. Interestingly, the State of Nebraska (and most others) did not follow the change and still keeps to the traditional July- through-June schedule.

I mention that because my first experience with government budgeting was at the state level–and in a different state. As a legislative intern for the Colorado Senate in the 1980s, I was dispatched to several hearings for what they called “the long bill.”

The bill itself is indeed long but enlightening. Watching one special interest after another amble up to the podium and making their case was interesting. In some cases, the deal had been worked out before the hearings in settings that didn’t trigger sunshine laws. In other cases, the pencils were sharpened, and genuine horse trading occurred.

The larger lesson was watching the structure of government unfold and, to my young mind, the realization that someone, somewhere, was taking care of the things I took for granted–and that there were bills to pay for those under-appreciated conveniences.

As I recall my years chasing the McCook City Council, I found the budget workshops, held on scorching summer days, to be similarly mundane–but I seldom battled narcolepsy in those workshops as I had in those earlier senate hearings. The petitioners were far more colorful, and council members diligently considered the funding of services that, like those at the state level, are often overlooked or underappreciated.

The publicly accessible budget workshops I recall from decades ago are no longer held. Instead, the city’s budget calendar spells out a necessary multitude of internal meetings and milestones beginning early this month, but the first gathering subject to open meetings requirements doesn’t happen until a “City Manager’s Annual Evaluation” in early August.

A preliminary budget will be released to “Council Members and Media” on Tuesday, August 13; on the same day, the council and staff will hold a “public review meeting.” Am I reading that correctly? I’m not seeing much time allowed for public review and digestion.

The next opportunity for public discussion will be on August 19, a short six days later at the first reading of a presumably finished ordinance. Then, there will be a second reading on September 3 and a third reading and adoption of the budget on September 16.

For many years, I have believed that the legally mandated public input in city matters usually happens at the wrong end of the process. This schedule seems to follow the same model. That said, it’s been a couple of decades since I made it my business to pay attention to these things, so I made a phone call.

An acquaintance of mine who sits on the council confirmed that the old budget workshops had gone the way of the dodo several years ago. He then emphasized that he encouraged citizens to attend the first and second readings so the council could hear public comments. He’s a good guy. He is sincere. I believe him, but I also know that at least one other council member has expressed a preference for doing as much deal-making behind the scenes as possible.

I won’t pretend to know what I don’t know. I have been away from the process for too many years to presume it’s anything but transparent, that the good people on the council and city staff are receptive to input at that late stage, and that citizen contributions are welcomed after so many work hours have been put into the document.

I can only hope that we all pay attention as the budget calendar unfolds. It is, after all, my personal experience that exposure to the budgeting process did not leave me angry or distrustful. It left me with a greater appreciation for the services provided by our local government and respect for the good people behind those services.