As recently as 2007, during the budget preparation process, elected Council members were called into Town Hall to meet with the Mayor and key administrators two-by-two to discuss the numbers.
This violated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) laws with the budget development process out of the public eye until it was already a done deal by the time Council voted.
"But that's the way we've always done it" citizens were told. Many pointed out this excluded the public and didn't allow elected representatives the benefit of hearing the same information at the same time or discussing the budget as a group.
In 2008, Finance Committee and Council Work Sessions were held without public notice. This practice, again in violation of FOIA, was brought to light by Roanoke Times reporter Donna Alvis-Banks and resulted in revisiting the law in an open session, where the Mayor pledged to follow the letter and intent of FOIA.
In 2009, these meetings received legal notice yet the timeline was again compressed with Council directing the hiring of a new Treasurer-slash-Finance Director to better manage the process.
In 2010, it became apparent the process of limiting public input (elected body and citizens) wasn't going to work. Time for elected representatives to fully review final numbers and digest budget details wasn't provided, as it turns out. The practice of cramming this down everyone's throat at the last minute finally failed.
While a $33.4 million dollar budget may have been adopted, the means of funding it are still up in the air. Council is demanding more details on the means of generating revenue by each tax or fee category, and more staff analysis and information justifying allocations (spending).
Call or email your elected Town Council members, and thank them for taking control -- and let them know what you think the town's budget priorities should be. A Work Session is scheduled for Tuesday, June 15 at 5:30 pm.
A financial plan may be finalized that night, or another Legal Notice and Public Hearing may still be required, based upon the consensus of a two-thirds majority of voting members. Next: Historic revenues by source and allocations (income and expenses).