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Edmond council sets budget workshop schedule, opts for March 9 kickoff
Summary
At a Feb. 9 budget workshop, Edmond’s finance director proposed multiple workshop formats and dates; the council agreed to begin detailed reviews March 9 and tentatively set March 23, March 30 and April 13 as additional sessions, favoring 2 p.m. starts and department-level presentations when possible.
Kathy Panas, director of finance for the City of Edmond, laid out the city’s proposed schedule and format for FY2627 budget workshops at a Feb. 9 special session and asked council members for guidance on timing and depth of presentations.
The council coalesced around a March 9 kickoff, with tentative follow-up workshops on March 23 and March 30 and a broader presentation on April 13. Panas told the council staff could present either rolled-up director-level budgets or department-by-department detail and that roughly two-hour sessions were the planning assumption.
Council members pressed for consistency in start times and clear access to the underlying data before meetings. One member said the public expects to see the full departmental numbers — FTE counts, payroll (including benefits), supplies and materials — and not just changes from the prior year. Several members urged that draft spreadsheets and the data behind slides be available for offline review ahead of workshops.
Panas noted the city has roughly 23 directors to schedule and recommended at least three workshops (with room for a fourth) if the council wants presentations from all departments. The council favored a 2 p.m. start on council meeting days to avoid confusion.
The session also confirmed logistical contingencies: council members asked staff to avoid spring-break dates and to build flexibility for overflow meetings if a two-hour slot proved insufficient. With those parameters, staff said it would set up the schedule, provide the requested pre-meeting data and use the city’s new budget software to publish more detailed, drillable information online.
Looking ahead, the group agreed staff should proceed with the March 9 kickoff and bring the department presentations, supporting spreadsheets and revenue scenarios to the workshops for council direction.
