Alpine city manager proposes new budget process, schedules funding workshop Jan. 21

City Manager Megan told the Alpine City Council at a Jan. workshop that she wants the council to identify a shorter list of top priorities so staff can concentrate resources, and she scheduled a funding-workshop for Jan. 21 to explain borrowing and other options.

Megan said the goal of the change is to focus staff time: "we're putting a 100% of our time to maybe 2 or 3" projects rather than spreading small amounts of staff time across many projects. She told council departments have been asked to submit clearer goals, mission statements and itemized worksheets by a February 10 deadline so a draft, unbalanced budget can be presented for March–April budget workshops.

The nut graf: the city manager framed the change as a way to make the budget process more transparent and actionable. Rather than returning a single balanced budget, she plans to return a draft that shows (1) council priorities, (2) departmental priorities and (3) the resulting revenue/expense gap so the council can decide whether to cut, raise fees or pursue borrowing.

Megan said some large infrastructure projects will require outside funding and invited a third-party specialist to a Jan. 21 workshop to explain borrowing instruments — including revenue bonds tied to utility fees, certificates of obligation and general obligation (property-tax) debt. She described how the choice of instrument affects who repays the debt: water/wastewater projects typically use revenue bonds and repay from utility fees, while equipment or general facility projects typically use debt linked to property-tax capacity.

Council members pressed for clarity on timeline and trade-offs. Megan said departments must deliver worksheets by Feb. 10 so staff can prepare draft numbers for March and April workshops, and emphasized the need to show council "the unbalanced reality" — for example, she told council the current gap between prioritized expenses and revenues is about $2,000,000 and that options will be presented for how to close that gap.

She also asked departments to be realistic about what can be completed in-house versus contracted out, citing staffing limits. In that context the manager said the utility crew has high turnover and limited experience: "out of the 8 employees, 6 of them have been there less than 90 days," and that constraint should shape whether projects are contracted.

The manager and council agreed to hold public budget workshops in March and April and to use the Jan. 21 session to explain funding options and likely cost examples for high-priority projects. Megan said she will return to the council with a prioritized recommendation and supporting numbers for council feedback.

Ending: The council did not take formal votes during the workshop. The manager set deadlines (department submissions by Feb. 10) and scheduled the funding workshop for Jan. 21 at 4 p.m.; formal budget workshops are expected in March–April when draft numbers are available.