Budget committee sets digital wish‑list deadlines, schedules work sessions

Chair Porterfield opened the hearing with administrative updates for council members about the committee's budget process and a new digital wish‑list form to be used this year. The committee set a two‑step submission schedule: an initial wish list is due Tuesday, May 27 at 8 a.m., and an updated wish list is due Thursday, June 5 at noon to allow members to revise requests after public comment and the first June meeting.

Porterfield told members the digital form will include fields asking what due diligence members did when proposing funding transfers between departments and that members should coordinate with both the department proposed to receive funds and any department proposed to be reduced. "One thing that's going to be really important is that if you are requesting that a department receives money or you're requesting that money is taken from a department ... please make sure that you are talking to both the department that is receiving the money as well as the department that would be having a reduction," Porterfield said. The chair also named Director Darby as the contact for questions about the wish‑list form.

The committee scheduled two public budget work sessions in chambers: May 27, which will include the finance department and a presentation of the USD GSD study, and May 28, which will include HR and Mercer to discuss the proposed pay plan. Subsequent, traditionally structured work sessions will move to the jury room to review wish‑list items and funding sources.

Porterfield asked members to use the new digital format and to coordinate across departments before submitting shifts in funding to ensure departmental priorities and the mayor’s proposed allocations are clear. No formal committee action was taken on these procedural items; they were announced to set deadlines and the schedule for upcoming budget deliberations.