Posted: 07/26/2010 09:45:34 PM MDT
The city of Boulder is looking to change the way it manages its annual budget. Under the new model, the programs that best help the city achieve the community's goals of having a safe, economically sustainable and socially vibrant place to live will receive top priority for funding. Those programs that are duplicated, waste money or don't meet the community's goals could be cut.
City Manager Jane Brautigam has been working this year to move to a "priority-based" budget, in which the things most important to the community are first in line for funding. Following a series of public meetings and working with a pair of outside consultants, the city compiled a list of every public service it provides.
The new list divides the city's 443 programs into four categories, ranking them from highest to lowest priority, based on whether they help meet the community's general goals of cultivating a safe, economically sustainable and socially thriving community.
Boulder Discusses Programs Less Relevant to Results - Boulder Daily Camera
City Manager Jane Brautigam has been working this year to move to a "priority-based" budget, in which the things most important to the community are first in line for funding.
Following a series of public meetings and working with a pair of outside consultants, the city compiled a list of every public service it provides.
The new list divides the city's 443 programs into four categories, ranking them from highest to lowest priority, based on whether they help meet the community's general goals of cultivating a safe, economically sustainable and socially thriving community.
At the top of the priority list are services such as police patrols, bike paths, athletic fields, traffic signals, general emergency services, the municipal court, pesticide management and open space trails.
Mid-level priorities include public access to computers at the city library branches, adult basketball leagues, animal control, pottery classes, preserving natural areas at the Boulder Reservoir, the Office of Emergency Management and maintaining bicycle racks.
The lowest priorities represent programs that range from internal administrative functions -- such as state and federal lobbying efforts and employee wellness programs -- to more visible services like early childhood programs and the library's annual concert series.
Brautigam said the list shouldn't be viewed as a way to "cut from the bottom up."
"Just because a program ranks high or ranks low doesn't mean it has some automatic impact on the budget," she said.
Instead, Brautigam said the rankings would be used to start discussions about potentially wasteful or duplicated programs.
"We need to see, is there a way we can provide them more efficiently?" she said.
The City Council will discuss the next steps for the 2011 budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Boulder Municipal Building.
'Do we need this?'
The city is paying the Johnson and Fabian Advisory Group $30,000 to assist with developing the new budget process.
The firm, founded by former Jefferson County finance officials Chris Fabian and Jon Johnson, is working with more than a dozen cities across the country.
Johnson said the overall goal is to get taxpayers the "best bang for the buck."
"We need to have a conversation about, 'Do we need this?" he said.
The city's Blue Ribbon Commission on Budget Stabilization concluded earlier this year that the city needs to take a hard look at the way it manages its budget, including better understanding the true costs and benefits of each and every service. The city cut its 2010 budget by $5 million, and the Blue Ribbon Commission has warned of a $100 million revenue shortfall by 2030 under the worst-case scenario.
Johnson said each city department was asked to detail its programs. Other departments were then asked to evaluate those results.
When the issue of Boulder's photo-radar program came up, for example, Johnson said a peer review of the police program resulted in "really intensive conversations" about whether photo radar helps improve safety on the roads.
The city eventually decided that, "the program in and of itself doesn't really achieve the results" that a police patrol might, Johnson said.
That doesn't mean drivers with a lead foot can breathe easier. Instead, "it starts generating the conversation," Johnson said.
'It's just an opportunity'
At the Boulder Police Department, those conversations will cover a range of services.
Police programs identified as being low priorities include the bomb squad, the SWAT team, a crime analysis unit, an employee assistance program and an accident reporting system.
According to the city's consultants, things like the SWAT team and bomb squad could have their responsibilities taken over by regional or county teams, saving the city money. Other services might be too costly, or might be offered by other city departments or nonprofit groups.
Chief Mark Beckner said all of the options are worth discussing.
"It gives a way to assess what we are doing and where we are putting our resources," he said. "It's just an opportunity for us to, right now, evaluate programs across the city."
He said the city is not "anywhere near" losing its bomb squad or other services.
At the Boulder Fire Department, the lowest priorities include funding fire investigations, certifying firefighters as emergency medical technicians, training for water rescues and providing service calls for things like lockouts and alarm shutoffs.
"Obviously, if we didn't think the services were important, we wouldn't be providing them," Fire Chief Larry Donner said. "The reality is we need to look at the programs we have and the resources available and somehow sort them out."
Donner said cutting some services, such as training, could have direct consequences on the public.
"Whenever you're dealing with limited resources, tough decisions have to be made," he said. "We're on the front end, and I'm willing to give the process a chance."
Library branches move to the top
One city department that has a history of narrowly dodging big budget cuts is the Boulder Public Library.
"We've gotten used to the budget process over the years," said Donna Gartenmann, the city's acting library director.
The lowest priorities identified at the library system include the annual concert series and film screenings.
"Both of those things have about 60,000 people a year who come through to see them," Gartenmann said.
Another low-priority function is the "Prospector" system, which links the Boulder library to 23 other library collections across Colorado and Wyoming. At the Carnegie library branch for local history, cuts could include archival functions and historic photo and oral history digitization.
"We've gone through similar things in the past, and it's part of the process," Gartenmann said. "We'll just work our way through it."
In a reversal to years past, however, funding the George Reynolds and Meadows library branch locations is among the highest priorities.
Youth dancing, yoga not priorities
Another department that identified a host of low priorities is the Parks and Recreation Department.
Those programs include competitive youth dance programs, early childhood programs, the pro shop at the Flatirons Golf Course and drop-in fitness and yoga classes at the North and South recreation centers and at the East Boulder Community Center.
On Monday, Boulder resident Carrie Cullinane took off her shoes and rolled out a yoga mat in the North Boulder Recreation Center.
She joined a packed class for the drop-in yoga training, which is offered for free with admission to the recreation center.
"I like the flexibility," she said of the program's schedule. Cullinane said she would be disappointed if the city stopped offering the classes.
"It really adds a lot to my life," she said.
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