Salisbury City Council Budget Schedule, Agenda Changes Explained

 

At the first work session of the newly reorganized Salisbury City Council, held Tuesday, schedule and agenda changes were made, then announced. The council hopes the changes will achieve a higher level of public access to budget information and gain a broader view of the city’s financial needs at the start of the budget process.

Among the changes were:

• Cancellation of the first budget meeting that was to be held tonight, with budget overview items moved to the April 25 legislative session;

• The addition of a council planning work session at 1:30 p.m. on April 25; and

• A change of time and agenda of the budget session scheduled for Tuesday, April 26, so that most department heads can meet jointly with council during the meeting from 1 to 6 p.m.

In a brief statement, the new council president, Terry Cohen, expressed appreciation to the newly seated council and to the administration for its efforts to accommodate the changes.

"Starting the budget process on the night before a holiday weekend is hard on the public and on staff. Council members did a commendable job, staying late at their very first work session to exchange ideas and start a diligent effort to work together productively," Cohen said. "My appreciation goes out to them, as well as to our mayor and administration for their efforts in trying to accommodate these requests."

Council Vice President Debbie Campbell added, "I am very pleased that, among other things, the council reached unanimous consensus to add the general fund discussion – usually saved for budget work session – to the legislative agenda for this Monday night, showing a desire to be more inclusive of the public and to make information regarding the financial health of the city more accessible."

Prior to Monday night’s session, the council will meet from 1:30 to 3:30 for prioritizing issues and planning workload. The meeting will incorporate similar feedback to be gained in a meeting scheduled earlier that day between council leadership and the mayor, along with key staff members.

Tuesday, the budget process of sessions between council and department heads start. The council changed the time to an afternoon period and is requesting to gather heads of departments at one time, starting at 1 p.m.

"Our hope is to enable both staff and council to have more interactive and collaborative budget discussions, a look at the overall picture at the beginning of the budget process so we can all better understand what the numbers mean to needs and delivery of service," Cohen noted.

For more information, contact the city clerk’s office at 410-548-3140, or contact Council President Cohen at 410-845-0296 or via email, Terry@TerryCohen.com.