The City of Redmond will host the first public hearing on the 2013-14 biennial budget on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Redmond City Hall, 15670 NE 85th St., during the regular City Council meeting.

Two additional hearings are planned for October and November.

The city uses a citizen-centric budget process called Budgeting by Priorities (BP) that matches budget proposals to six community identified priorities: Vibrant Business Community, Clean and Green Environment, Community Building, Responsible Government, Infrastructure and Growth and Community Safety. Redmond adopted the BP process in 2008, making this the third time it has been used.

“City staff and citizens kicked off Redmond’s Budgeting by Priorities process in late February with a series of neighborhood meetings designed to gather resident input on what projects and services they would like emphasized during the 2013-14 budget cycle,” said City of Redmond Finance Director Michael Bailey.

The goal of the first public hearing is to collect further community input about city issues, priorities and fiscal matters before the budget drafts are developed and to provide further information about the BP process.

Key issues for the budget include maintaining services as the economy continues to rebound, aligning city spending with the vision of the community, continuing to make improvements in the way the city does business and ensuring that the city maintains the quality of the public facilities that the community has already invested in such as roads, parks, utility systems and buildings.

“We truly hope the community will join us to tell us their thoughts about the future,” said Council member John Stilin.

The mayor’s preliminary budget will go to City Council in October. Following a series of public budget hearings, the council will adopt a budget sometime in late November or December.

For more information or to learn about the city’s budget process visit www.redmond.gov/bp.