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Olympia moves to priority‑based budgeting; draft program reports expected before June retreat
Summary
Staff updated council on the city’s priority‑based budgeting work: program inventories and cost allocations are nearly complete, program scoring and peer review are underway, and draft results will be available at the midyear retreat with a consultant presentation planned June 24.
Assistant City Manager Debbie Sullivan and staff reported May 13 that Olympia has completed a program inventory and most cost allocations for a priority‑based budgeting (PBB) system and expects draft program insights for the 2026 budget deliberations.
Sullivan said the city has loaded line‑item budget data into software, allocated personnel and nonpersonnel costs to programs, and is now in the program‑scoring phase. Departments have created 61 programs and are scoring each program against alignment with the comprehensive plan (six focus areas including public safety and environmental stewardship) and a set of program attributes such as reliance, mandate status, cost recovery and demand. The city added climate and equity as scoring lenses.
What to expect and timing: Sullivan said staff will finalize data this month and provide draft costing, alignment and initial insights for the June midyear retreat; the consultant will present a final report and recommendations at the June 24 study session. Sullivan and City Manager Jay Bernie cautioned the midyear materials would be draft and that the consultant’s June 24 presentation would contain final insights and opportunity‑area reports.
Features and uses: Program reports will show total cost, personnel and nonpersonnel breakdowns, associated revenues, and FTE allocations to programs. Sullivan said the tool can expose programs that have high cost and low community impact and can help the council and public see tradeoffs. Council members suggested public calculators and outreach materials so businesses and residents can test scenarios; Council Member Cooper asked for a public‑facing calculator for B&O scenarios, and Sullivan agreed those kinds of tools would be valuable.
Council discussion: Members asked about maintenance of the PBB system and cadence for future scoring. Sullivan said the first year is the heaviest lift and that city staff will operate the software with consultant support; departments will rescore and update the system as budget cycles progress. Several members said the PBB information would help prioritize potential reductions or guide revenue discussions in the 2026 process.
Ending: Sullivan said draft results will be available at the June midyear retreat and final consultant findings will be presented June 24; staff described PBB as a continuing process and promised to update council and the public as reports and tools are finalized.
