Advisory committee briefed on urban renewal budget, move toward biennial budget format

Charlie, a city staffer, presented the current approved urban renewal budget that is scheduled for adoption by the city council and the agency on June 16 and said the budget "sailed through the budget committee on May 12." He highlighted three items: continued funding for two grant programs at previously discussed amounts, allocations for discretionary line items (projects, professional services, property acquisition) with no specific projects identified yet, and a more accurate accounting of city staff time charged to renewal fund budgets.

Charlie said the city manager envisions moving all city budgets to a biennial (two-year) format and that the urban renewal funds are a pilot for that shift. "So we're kind of experimenting first ... with just the urban the 2 urban renewal fund budgets because Guinea pigs? Of sorts," he said.

Committee members asked whether the advisory body would see draft budgets before they went to the budget committee; staff said portions of the budget and specific programs can be brought to the committee for input but that the city's current administrative process sends staff recommendations to the budget committee and council. Members discussed that the large-improvement grant line shows $75,000 per year in the two-year presentation and asked whether the committee could approve spending all two years' allocation in a single year; staff said that while it might be possible in some circumstances, doing so would trigger additional budget-process steps and would be brought back to the agency for approval.

No formal changes to the budget were made at the meeting; staff said they would research procedural questions about reallocations between the two budget years and return with clarifications.