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Council directs modest refresh of priority-based budgeting; staff to return with outreach plan
Summary
Council discussion produced guidance to pursue a moderate refresh with low staff effort rather than a wholesale restart. Staff will proceed with an amended review approach and follow up on outreach planning and timing.
City staff presented the history and mechanics of the city’s Priority-Based Budgeting (PBB) framework and asked the council whether they wanted a full restart of priorities or a more limited update.
Council discussion leaned toward a modest, lower-effort refresh rather than starting from scratch. Multiple council members said the priorities adopted in recent years still reflect community goals and that more limited updates between elections are sufficient. The city manager and budget staff noted the administrative cost of a full restart and recommended a targeted update and outreach process timed between election cycles.
Council members suggested a hybrid approach in which a deeper review could occur less frequently (for example, once per full council cycle) and lighter check-ins, or a work session, would be used in intervening years to roll forward and refine objectives. The PBV administration team asked for direction on whether to begin outreach to update objectives and received direction to pursue a “moderate change / low effort” process and to return with an outreach plan.
Staff did not propose ordinance changes at the retreat; the session provided guidance for the schedule and outreach scope going into the next budget cycle.
