Council Retreat: Budget and Development
Council Retreat: Budget and Development
The Council Retreat provided a collaborative and productive atmosphere where staff and councilmembers were able to creatively work together in a casual manner. It was a nice alternative to the more formal interactions at Study Sessions and Council Meetings. On the second day of the retreat, staff and Council had an opportunity to focus on the City’s budget projections and economic development.
The budget presentation to Council focused on challenges that will affect the City’s budget over the next several years. These challenges include funding the various capital and infrastructure needs of the City and funding the unfunded pension and other post-employment employee benefit liabilities.
During the City Council retreat, Community Development staff gained a greater understanding of how City Council would like to treat future development and redevelopment within the City. Staff will use the discussion with City Council to implement improvements to the development process in order to provide effective, streamlined services that contribute to quality development within the City. Staff will continue to pursue outside funding for economic development in the form of grants and other financing opportunities; these different financing opportunities will be presented to City Council in order to determine an effective route that will benefit the many residents, businesses, and institutions of the City. Image is everything… City Council places a high value on promoting a vibrant community through well-suited residential and commercial redevelopment and Community Development staff will work towards promoting this vibrancy using the goals set forth by City Council.
The budget and development conversations from the retreat have set the stage to find creative solutions and develop enhanced processes that will be discussed and implemented in the coming year.
The budget presentation to Council focused on challenges that will affect the City’s budget over the next several years. These challenges include funding the various capital and infrastructure needs of the City and funding the unfunded pension and other post-employment employee benefit liabilities.
During the City Council retreat, Community Development staff gained a greater understanding of how City Council would like to treat future development and redevelopment within the City. Staff will use the discussion with City Council to implement improvements to the development process in order to provide effective, streamlined services that contribute to quality development within the City. Staff will continue to pursue outside funding for economic development in the form of grants and other financing opportunities; these different financing opportunities will be presented to City Council in order to determine an effective route that will benefit the many residents, businesses, and institutions of the City. Image is everything… City Council places a high value on promoting a vibrant community through well-suited residential and commercial redevelopment and Community Development staff will work towards promoting this vibrancy using the goals set forth by City Council.
The budget and development conversations from the retreat have set the stage to find creative solutions and develop enhanced processes that will be discussed and implemented in the coming year.
