It’s that time of year when our local cities finalize budgets for the coming year. Back in March when the state shut down because of the coronavirus, many cities were getting ready to begin audits of their 2019 financials, a critical first step in the budgeting process. Delays occurred as auditors took precautions including social distancing and refraining from traveling out of their area. Likewise, city offices were closed for the most part. 

Once operations began to open up in May, there was a lot of catching up to do. Some cities are still a few months behind their typical timeline, but the state still needs them to certify their approved budgets on time, no later than Aug. 25. It’s in the state constitution, so no exceptions can be made. 

This is all to say that cities need to be quick and nimble in order to fulfill their budget duties this year. City administrations have been working to finalize proposed budgets to present to our elected officials. In the next couple of weeks, those representatives of “We the People,” our city councils, will be meeting in budget study sessions around the county to go over the proposals, ask questions, and make any last-minute changes before moving to the next step. These sessions, we might add, are open to the public.

The next step is publication of the final budget, and notice of when the public will have their opportunity to ask questions and make their comments. These hearings usually happen in the first half of August, and are usually associated with a city council meeting. They are usually not well attended. Because of this, they rarely last longer than a few minutes. After the budget hearing is closed, the budget is certified, and moves onto the county level, and from there onto the state. 

It’s easy to ignore this critical facet of our local government when end of summer vacations and everything associated with back to school are at the forefront of our mind. This is the public’s chance, however, to take a look and offer direction to their council members about what direction to take. Whether it’s ensuring first responders have the things they need to do their jobs well or making improvements to public spaces, now is the time to make the call, show up to the study session, or put the budget hearing on your calendar. 

Your local press will be there, of course, to do our best to report on what is going on. But, it’s up to you to take action.