City of Kenmore issued the following announcement on Nov. 12.
On October 26, 2020, the Kenmore City Council adopted the Financial Sustainability Plan to balance the City of Kenmore’s budget for the next eight years. The Financial Sustainability Plan was developed over the last year by a task force of community members through discussion and thorough consideration of data and public input. To read the adopted plan and the accompanying policy discussion and analysis, go to kenmorewa.gov/FSP.
Key recommendations include adding revenue sources, reducing expenses and programs, and rebalancing the budget to better reflect Kenmore’s priorities. Once adopted, the Financial Sustainability Plan will provide guidance for the City’s biennial budgets. The 2021-2022 biennial budget planning process is currently underway and there are opportunities for public input: see www.kenmorewa.gov/budget for more information.
The development of the plan started in 2019 when Kenmore City Council approved a process for creating a Financial Sustainability Plan and a charter for a task force of seven community members to assist in solving a forecasted $2 million per year structural deficit by 2026. Although the City of Kenmore has a record of adopting balanced budgets, the pre-pandemic forecast showed operating expenditures exceeding operating revenues as soon as 2022. This problem has been worsened by the pandemic and the resulting economic recession.
The City’s construction projects (also referred to as “capital projects”) are funded separately and independently of the City’s operating budget. Capital projects are paid for with one-time capital revenues, such as grants, voter-approved bonds, and impact fees from new construction. The City’s general operating funds for ongoing programs such as police, parks maintenance, etc. does not have access to these capital revenues and is funded from separate revenues such as property tax and sales tax. The Financial Sustainability Plan focused on these operating funds.
Throughout the Financial Sustainability Plan process, public input was gathered via surveys, emails, and comments at Task Force meetings. Additionally, the City of Kenmore deployed an online interactive tool known as “Balancing Act” to get hands-on input on how to balance the City’s budget. Hundreds of people submitted feedback through the Balancing Act tool.
For more information, visit www.kenmorewa.gov/FSP.
Original source can be found here.
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