When Mayor John Marchione introduced the City of Redmond’s Budgeting by Priorities (BP) process early this year, he knew that it would require “a mental shift … a cultural change,” in the way that people think about how their money is spent.
At the Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Vitality Breakfast on July 2, Marchione told attendees that as the process continues, “the cultural change is exceeding my expectations.”
Community workshops in February and April gave citizens chances to comment on the city services and intangible qualities — such as feeling safe in their neighborhoods or having pride in their hometown — that are most important to them. They’ve also had chances to interact with city staff members who can create, maintain or improve programs that align with those goals.
People have traditionally thought about input — how much money to spend on a program or service — rather than output, meaning how much they will benefit from that expenditure, Marchione reminded the crowd at the Chamber breakfast.
Thus, as the BP process goes on, “city departments were given budget ideas — how to achieve priority goals and how to measure efficiency,” he said.
Results Teams including city staff members and citizens will rank priorities and submit them to the mayor on July 7. They will be re-examined and fine-tuned before presentation to the City Council in October.
The plan is “to have as few surprises as possible,” said Marchione, because a great deal of discussion has already been underway.
Marchione reviewed priorities that have been mentioned on a recurring basis, such as the community’s support for “a diverse range of services and variety of housing, shopping, faith communities and open spaces …recruiting, supporting and retaining businesses … . And infrastructure is a priority on its own,” he noted.
He added that the city’s arts administrator has strongly suggested that a lively downtown needs an active arts component.
“A sense of community and connection with others (requires) safety, places for public gatherings, access to human services,” Marchione continued. “A clean and green environment means parks, open space, ecological restoration and environmental stewardship. …Responsible government means quality services, community connections, fiscal responsibility and effective leadership.”
With such priorities in mind, it now is necessary to apply the concept of “scalability,” deciding what the outcome will be if the city spends, for example, 10 percent more or 10 percent less on a program or service, he said.
“Public safety and infrastructure will receive a larger piece of the pie,” Marchione stated, and he believes that infrastructure should shape growth.
More information about the Budgeting by Priorities process is on the city’s Web site at www.redmond.gov/BP.
Marchione also spoke briefly about the upcoming investments in the downtown area which had been “hollow” and efforts to redirect growth there and in the Overlake neighborhood.
With the Bear Creek Parkway expansion beginning this summer and later on, the restoration of two-way streets in downtown Redmond, the next step will be adding water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure to support more buildings of four to six stories, with retail at the ground level and housing above.
To mitigate disruptions during the downtown redevelopment, Marchione said the city will strive to provide “first class communication to the public,” on how to access businesses, and said that only one of the main traffic arteries would be closed at any time.
