April 15, 2008

District 10 to hold third annual budget forum

Residents are invited to the third annual District 10 budget/neighborhood forum on Wednesday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Almaden Community Center, 6445 Camden Ave.

The office staff has designed the forum for the district’s residents that want to learn about the budget and the process it takes to put it together as well as provide their personal suggestions for the city’s proposed budget for 2008-09.

Mayor Chuck Reed will provide an overview and City Manager Debra Figone will discuss the budget program. Councilmember Nancy Pyle will also be there to answer questions.

Besides holding the forum at the Community Center on a Wednesday night, this year’s forum differs from the two previous ones because Pyle is requesting feedback ahead of the forum through a survey on the district 10 Web site. Just go to the district Web page and click on the survey. The survey was placed on the Web site on March 18.

While the forum is the place to register concerns, there is also a comment section in the survey. The staff hopes to receive all the surveys by May 4. Data is compiled as the surveys are returned.

The staff is hoping to see a large turnout and while the forum is aimed at District 10 residents, it is open to a citywide audience.

Recent news reports have shown the city at a critical juncture (see the Mayor’s budget message, page 1). The city council continues to confront the need for significant budget reductions. This is the sixth consecutive year the proposed budget contains multi-million dollar reduction proposals in the city’s general fund.

The cost of continuing the current level of service can’t be sustained without new sources of revenue and/or a reduction in costs. The council has asked for and received a huge amount of public input. The forum is designed to give District 10 residents a chance to offer what they think are the important needs for their community as well as provide them with a better understanding of the 2008-09 proposed budget.