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Takoma Park staff present FY 2027 budget calendar; council raises outreach and timing concerns
Summary
City Manager Desperto presented a draft FY 2027 budget schedule that shifts dates to avoid religious holidays and school breaks; councilmembers pressed staff to separate internal deadlines from public‑facing dates, expand outreach for the community budget forum and survey, and confirm options to preserve quorum during conference travel.
City Manager Desperto presented a draft schedule for the FY 2027 budget process and asked the council for feedback on dates and public‑facing items.
Desperto said staff adjusted the calendar to avoid conflicts with Passover and Montgomery County Public Schools spring break, and included some internal staff deadlines (marked in italics) to illustrate internal steps. "If it's council's preference, we can have any reference to just the city staff calendar deadlines removed and just ultimately just adopt a schedule that only shows the council steps," Desperto said.
Councilmembers asked staff to treat community engagement items — notably the community survey launch and due dates and the community budget forum — as public‑facing milestones and to improve outreach so survey responses are more representative. Councilmember Schlegel asked for clearer timing about when survey results and community forum input will be available for council deliberations. Staff said financial projections, the audit, and actuarial reports scheduled for Nov. 12 will inform the budget‑projection work and the council's November work sessions.
Members also discussed format options for the community budget forum. Staff said off‑site broadcast capability is limited but agreed to explore hybrid or alternative venue options and additional outreach (childcare, targeted meetings, youth engagement) to increase participation in under‑represented groups.
Councilmembers raised scheduling conflicts with the National League of Cities conference and asked staff to coordinate travel plans to preserve quorum for key votes. Deputy staff explained the internal timeline requires departmental submissions by mid‑December so staff can prepare a proposal in time for council review and work sessions.
Staff will refine the public calendar, remove strictly internal-only notes where appropriate, and return a final resolution adopting the FY 2027 budget calendar for council action next week.
