Boston City TV, MA Office of Budget Management, 15 Feb 2022

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From YouTube: Budget Listening Tour Presentation - 2/15/22

Description

Want to help inform how Boston's annual budget resources are allocated? Visit boston.gov/budget to fill out our budget survey and register for a listening session.

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Welcome to boston's budget listening session, hosted in partnership with the boston city council, launched to both educate and solicit public feedback on the city's operating budget and its capital plans.

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My name is jim williamson boston's budget director and during this part of the session, we will outline the budget process and highlight the changes made through last fall's ballot initiative. Question 1.

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the ballot initiative, both confirmed the changes to the boston city council's role in approving the budget, but it also calls for the creation of a new participatory budgeting structure.

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We intend to ask for your feedback to inform the annual budget development and to hear your ideas about participatory budgeting. This session is intended to be both high high-level overview in a listening session.

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The city panelists will not be prepared to answer detailed programmatic and policy questions in this session, but those questions and comments will be forwarded to the appropriate subject matter: experts at the city: first, we can talk about what budgets are for. The budget is a financial document, but it also is a statement of priorities.

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How a city spends its resources as the most direct way to serve residents and improve their lives. The budget supports both day-to-day operations and services in longer-term investments in physical assets.

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Why do we make budgets? State law says the city must produce a balanced budget every year a balanced budget means the city's recurring revenue. Sources must fully cover what it expects to spend during the year without keeping a close eye on what we're spending we'll be spending more than we're, bringing in just like your household budget. If we spend more than we make, then we'll have to make very hard decisions.

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The annual budget process allows the city to revisit operations, review programs and make adjustments to meet changing needs. Also, a new budget is an opportunity to make strategic investments to make positive changes and provide more effective services to residents.

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When people talk about the budget, they're actually talking about one or two budgets, either operating or capital operating budgets are generally funded from steady, predictable revenue sources to fund day-to-day needs of the city. Government capital budgets are larger physical projects, your library, renovation, the drainage upgrades to ball fields, the repaving of your street.

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These these big projects are typically funded by bonds. The city sells, the city can get lower rates and save money on the bonds they sell with a better bond rating. A bond rating is basically an assessment of credit. Worthiness.

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Boston has been fortunate due in large part, to strong financial management to have the highest possible bond rating. To make an analogy, a bond rating is sort of a fico score for bond issuers, while the primary focus of this session is the annual budget process in recent changes.

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We know that many of you are interested in new one-time federal funding.

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The city has been the recipient of multiple federal funding sources displayed here to learn more about these and how you can give feedback on how they should be used. Please go to boston.gov forward, slash recover.

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The operating budget has two components: expenses or budget, and revenue shown here as pie charts. As you can see on the left side pie the budget. The city spends the largest percentage of its budget on public education and 41, and that is both for the boston, public schools and charter schools.

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The second largest percentage at 19 is for general government agencies like public works parks and libraries. The third largest percentage displayed at 18 is for public safety agencies like fire and police. The fourth largest percentage at 14 is for fixed costs. That includes things like pensions and debt service and finally, the fifth largest percentage displayed at seven percent is for health insurance for both active and retired employees.

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As for the revenue right side pie, it is very clear: the city is highly dependent on property taxes. 73 percent of the fy 22 budget is supported by property taxes. The second largest slice is state aid at 13, for both general government and education.

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The third largest slice is departmental revenue, including things like parking, fines and building permits. The fourth largest slice is excise taxes for things like motor vehicles, hotel occupancy and meals. The fifth largest slice is an amount of non-recurring revenue.

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Non-Recurring revenues include amounts, pulled from its fund balance or reserves and are brand new in fy 22. A temporary contribution from federal funds from the american rescue plan grant.

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Here is a list of some of the major program in policy areas covered by the city's budget ordered alphabetically, including arts and culture, economy, education, energy, environment and parks, equity for all health housing, public safety, transportation.

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Here is an illustration of the fiscal year. The city but cities budget follows as you can see. It straddles two calendar years. We name the fiscal year after the year. It ends in so we are currently in fy22. We need your help. Creating fy23.

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Here is a display of the budget development timeline. Most of these dates are dictated by the city's charter, with references to like no later than the second wednesday in april are no later than the second wednesday in june.

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The timeline also includes the fiscal year start and end dates and periods of activity like the budget development period of the winter 20 20 21 22 in the city council review and approval time frame april may june.

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Here's what is different now about the city charter and has led to this new collaborative effort with the city council. The city council has for many years been required to act on the mayor's recommended budget by the second wednesday in june.

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However, prior to china change the city council's parliament included options to reject, reduce or pass the budget as a result of ballot question 1 passing in november 2021, the city council can now reject, reduce, pass or amend line items in the city budget.

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Amending the budget means the city council can reduce certain appropriations and increase others as long as it stays within the overall total budget submitted by the mayor ballot. Question 1 also requires the creation of the office of participatory budgeting open to all boston residents by 2024.

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Here are the new approval process dates for fy23 also displays on displayed on the timeline. The dates are april: 13 2022. The mayor will submit a recommended budget to the boston city council june 8. The city council will adopt reject, amend or reduce the operating budget.

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The capital budget requires two votes on two separate days, and this is the date for the first capital vote june 15th. The budget will be resubmitted to this council by the mayor in june 30th the last day of the fiscal year. We expect to have a new budget in place on that date.

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Public input on the budget comes in many ways. This budget-focused listing tour, for example, is an opportunity for us to hear from you, but in addition, there will be public hearings on overall budgets as well as department, specific budgets that will get into the detail about programs and policies included in the budget.

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Please note- and this is a very important takeaway budget engagement can happen all year long in many ways, like community meetings, block parties, small business openings, school committee, meetings, etcetera, you can read all you can also reach out to city councilors, need with service liaisons or call into 311..

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You can also call your city, cabinet officials or department heads. Often residents engage with all of these contacts different times in different venues.

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So now it's your turn. We're excited to hear your budget process questions and comments, and we strongly encourage you to take the survey linked here. Thank you.