Troutdale advisory committee proposes public prioritization of discretionary budget projects

Members of the Troutdale Citizens Advisory Committee on Feb. 5 proposed collecting the city budget committee’s list of discretionary projects and asking residents to rank priorities online to guide which projects the city should pursue next.

The proposal, raised during public discussion at the committee’s regularly scheduled meeting, asked staff to obtain the list of discretionary items that the budget committee compiles each year and to make that list available so residents can indicate which projects they most want to see completed.

The idea is meant to separate discretionary projects from mandatory items (driven by county, city or state requirements) and to give the public a clearer way to influence which discretionary projects are funded. Dakota, a planning staff member, said staff will check whether releasing that list requires authorization and whether the budget committee would be willing to present its list to the CAC. "I'd have to see, if I'd have to get authorization for something like that," Dakota told the committee.

Committee members said the timing matters: the budget committee reviews and attempts to approve budgets around April and typically holds a large informational meeting in December. Victoria, who said she has served on the budget committee for more than a decade, noted some items are held in the budget because the city is waiting on grants and therefore must show matching funds. "Sometimes things are put aside because we're waiting for grants to come to help us complete it, but we have to have that money in the budget so we can get the grant," Victoria said.

Members also emphasized transparency and education about how projects enter the budget. Diane, a committee member, requested a presentation from the budget manager, the city manager and a councilor so the CAC can better understand which items are practical and how projects move off the list. "It'd be nice to get a comprehensive, informative discussion from the City budget manager along with the city manager," Diane said.

Next steps the committee agreed on included Dakota checking with staff (and with Erica, per Dakota) about authorization to share the budget committee’s discretionary list, and then returning to the CAC with either the list or a plan for a joint presentation so the committee can design a public engagement or online voting mechanism before or around the April budget cycle.

The committee did not take a formal vote on adopting a specific online voting tool at the Feb. 5 meeting. Staff and committee members framed the action as a direction to explore options and report back.

The topic drew sustained discussion at the meeting; members underscored that mandatory projects driven by legal or contractual obligations would not be affected by public ranking and that the CAC’s role is to collect public input, not to override legal requirements.