October 13, 2011
I look forward to working with my colleagues to implement a budget that places the City on firm fiscal ground in 2012 and beyond.”
Beginning Tuesday, October 25th, the City Council will initiate a series of budget hearings to review Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s proposed 2012 City Budget.
As required by the City Charter, Mayor Landrieu, representing the executive branch of City Government, presents the proposed 2012 City Budget document to the City Council, the legislative branch of City Government, at an official meeting of the legislative body. Mayor Landrieu will appear before a Special Meeting of the Council on Monday, October 17th at 2 p.m.
Last year, the Council requested that the Mayor’s proposed City Budget be received earlier than the City Charter required date of November 1st. This request gives the legislative branch additional time to conduct budget review and analysis. The Council is required by the City Charter to take action on the 2012 Budget by December 1, 2011.
Budget Committee Chair and Council President Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson said, “I look forward to working with my colleagues to implement a budget that places the City on firm fiscal ground in 2012 and beyond.”
The City Council’s hearing schedule commences on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 with the first day allotted to presentations on Special Tax Districts, Tax Levy, the Revenue Budget and the Finance Department. The remainder of the first week of hearings is dedicated to the budgets of City Departments. Public safety and the court system will dominate the second week of hearings. Rounding out the third and final week of scheduled hearings, the Council will take up the Mayor’s Office and the Chief Administrative Office budgets, as well as the budgets of the City’s outside agencies and unattached boards and commissions.
The Mayor’s Budget presentation will likely touch on the “Budgeting for Outcomes model, first utilized by the Administration last year, as well as the Administration’s 2012 Budget priorities. This model gives a comprehensive view of the budget and provides opportunity for policy-oriented discussions throughout the course of City Council Budget Hearings.
“The ‘Budgeting for Outcomes’ model should produce and sustain quantified benchmarks of performance. We have been assured that department and division heads will meet our expectations by providing reports of performance levels,” said Council President Clarkson.
“Budgeting for Outcomes” presents the budget by result area. It defines goals and asks departments to propose specific budget allotments which will be used to achieve a desired result. Over time, the success of a given initiative is tracked and measured by performance indicators.
To engage citizens, gauge the needs of each Council District and set budget priorities, Mayor Landrieu and Councilmembers held public meetings throughout the summer months in each Council District.
The optimum end result is an adopted budget with expected outcomes and performance measurements that the executive and legislative branches of government can follow collaboratively throughout the coming year.
The Council’s budget hearings are expected to continue through the middle of November. A hearing schedule can be found on the Council’s website. All hearing days are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the exception of November 1st, which begins at 1:30 p.m.
Click here for the Council Budget Hearing Schedule.
