HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 02 Budget Committee Process Check In AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 4/6/2020
Meeting Type: Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.: Nathan Bell / Finance Staff Phone No: 541-726-2364
Estimated Time: 10 Minutes
S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Provide Financially Responsible and Innovative Government
Services ITEM TITLE: BUDGET COMMITTEE PROCESS CHECK-IN
ACTION REQUESTED:
Provide feedback to staff on how to structure a remote Budget Committee process.
ISSUE STATEMENT: Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting executive orders prohibiting public gathering and requiring social distancing have led to City staff exploring options for how public meetings may be held electronically. As of the date of this memo, it is uncertain as to the specific end date for the limits on travel and public gathering. As such, staff has developed
options for holding the Budget Committee process electronically and is requesting guidance from Council on next steps.
ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Council Briefing Memorandum
DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The response to COVID-19 has required that the City of Springfield, along with all
other jurisdictions in Oregon, evaluate how to produce a Budget Committee process that complies with Oregon Budget Law and with the Governor’s Executive Orders regarding social distancing and public gatherings. The attached Council Briefing
Memorandum provides the Council with a range of options of which staff is requesting feedback on. These options are an attempt to make changes to the Budget Committee process that respond to the current crisis and meet the Council
and community’s expectations for an open and deliberative budget process.
M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield
Date: 4/6/2020
To: Mary Bridget Smith COUNCIL
From: Nathan Bell, Finance Director
Neil Obringer, Budget Officer
BRIEFING
Subject: Budget Committee Process Check-in MEMORANDUM
ISSUE: Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting
executive orders prohibiting public gathering and requiring social distancing have led to City
staff exploring options for how public meetings may be held electronically. As of the date of
this memo, it is uncertain as to the specific end date for the limits on travel and public gathering.
As such, staff has developed options for holding the Budget Committee process electronically
and is requesting guidance from Council on next steps.
COUNCIL GOALS/
MANDATE:
Provide Financially Responsible and Innovative Government Services
BACKGROUND:
This memo provides options for how to structure a remote Budget Committee process, which
complies with current restrictions on public gatherings and social distancing. These possible
changes are being discussed as a result of the response to COVID-19.
To inform this memo, staff have reviewed the following sources of information: how other
communities have structured their remote public meeting format, information provided by the
Department of Revenue who provides guidance to local governments on local budget law, and a
review of the local budget law section of Oregon Revised Statute.
Meeting Delivery and Location:
Staff propose utilizing the same software platform as will be used to conduct City Council and
Planning Commission meetings, most likely this will be GoToWebinar. Citizen Budget
Committee members and Councilors will access the meetings as panelists. Access information
for this meeting will be included in all public notices so that members of the public will be able
to remotely access the meeting as participants.
Department Presentations:
Council may choose to remove department presentations from the agenda. This would narrow
the scope of the process to only those components required by statute. Oregon Budget Law
requires that the Budget Committee process include, at the minimum, the delivery of the budget
message and the opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and comment on the
budget. A simplification of the agenda may be warranted given the uncertainties surrounding
holding a remote meeting process. Staff would continue to provide the Budget Committee with
each department’s budget summary memos describing their proposed budget and the ‘stoplight’
reports which show the account level detail for the department’s proposed budget.
Question: Would the Council like to remove department presentations from the Budget
Committee agenda for this year?
Attachment 1, Page 1 of 3
MEMORANDUM Page 2
Meeting Date(s):
The current schedule has the Budget Committee meeting on April 28th, May 5th, May 12th and
May 19th (if needed). Staff are looking for guidance on what day or days to schedule a remote
meeting process. If Council directs staff to simplify the process and remove department
presentations from the agenda, staff believe that the process can be completed in one night with
an additional night held in reserve. The delays resulting from the City’s response to COVID-19
may make it difficult to have the process ready by April 28th. Staff propose holding the first
meeting on May 5th and holding May 12th in reserve in case of technical difficulties or if
additional time is needed. Council may consider that the third night held in reserve (May 19th) is
election night. The Council may also consider that if they would like to continue to include
department presentations in the agenda, that three meeting nights should be scheduled or
additional time added to the May 5th and May 12th agendas.
Question:
If the Council would like to remove department presentations from the agenda, should the
first remote Budget Committee meeting be on May 5th with May 12th held in reserve?
If the Council would like to continue to include department presentations in the agenda,
should more time be added to May 5th and May 12th or should a third meeting night be
added?
Making Materials Available to the Public:
In an effort to provide the community and the Budget Committee with additional time to review
the proposed budget materials, staff will work to be prepared to release the proposed budget
document and supporting materials one week earlier than normal. This is in response to
guidance from the Department of Revenue that it may be helpful to provide budget materials and
information in advance and extended periods for the public to provide comment.
Question: Would the Council like to see any changes to the timeline or method of
providing meeting materials to the public?
Public Comment:
To provide members of the community a range of opportunities to comment on and ask
questions about the budget, staff may setup several venues for the public to provide comment.
1.) Written comment in advance of the meeting
Written comment may be received via email sent to Budget@springfield-or.gov starting
from the posting of information for public review through 5:00 p.m. the day prior to the
Budget Committee meeting. Written comments would be read by staff during the
business from the audience section of the Budget Committee meeting and would be
given a three minute time limit per submission.
2.) Prescheduled phone call-in to meeting
Members of the public may arrange to phone in comments by emailing
Budget@springfield-or.gov or calling the City Manager’s Office (541-726-3700). Staff
will provide members of the public a window of time in which staff would call the
individual and then use a speakerphone to connect them to the meeting.
3.) Using GoToWebinar Participation Functionality
Attachment 1, Page 2 of 3
MEMORANDUM Page 3
GoToWebinar software provides functionality for the organizer to allow attendees to
speak during the meeting, provided the attendee is utilizing a computer or tablet with a
microphone. During Business from the Audience, the meeting organizer would look for
attendees to ‘raise their hand’ and would then unmute the attendees’ microphone,
allowing them to provide comment or ask a question.
Question: Would the Council like to add, remove, or suggest changes to the options for
public comment in the list provided above?
Motions and Committee Voting
Since the Council and Planning Commission will hold several public meetings using remote
meeting software prior to the Budget Committee, staff plan to monitor the process and
procedures developed for those meetings and use that information to inform the process for
Budget Committee.
SEDA
Local Budget law requires that the SEDA Budget Committee meet to receive the budget
message and receive comments and questions from the public in the same way as the City
Budget Committee. If the Council would like to hold all Budget Committee meetings on a single
day, staff would like direction on whether to hold the SEDA meeting before or after the City
Budget Committee meeting. There may be an advantage to completing the SEDA process prior
to the full City process since the agenda is typically shorter and there are three additional
members on the SEDA Budget Committee who will need to join in.
Question:
Would the Council like to hold the SEDA Budget Committee on the same night as the City
Budget Committee?
Would the Council like to hold the SEDA Budget Committee at the beginning of the
process or at the end?
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Provide feedback to staff on how to structure a remote Budget
Committee process.
Attachment 1, Page 3 of 3