Council is Dark; Budget Hearings on the Horizon

The City Council is dark on Monday, but here’s what’s on the horizon.

The City Council will hold its joint meeting with the Pasadena Unified School District on April 29.

In May the City Council will open its annual budget hearings.

After the budget is transmitted to the City Council, individual department budgets will be discussed by City Council committees.

Those committees will make a recommendation to the City Council which will vote on approving the budget.

The City’s City Charter mandates that on or before the third Monday in May the City Manager shall submit to the City Council an annual operating budget for the succeeding fiscal year.

The budgetary process involves input from citizens, public officials, nonprofit and governmental entities, neighborhood associations, business, and city staff to plan for Pasadena’s future.

City departments analyze their expenditures, revenue collection, and performance results to determine budgetary needs. They also consider relevant commission annual reports to assess how departmental work plans will support the commissions’ plans.

The Budget Office reviews and analyzes historic performance, current year budget-to-actual expenditures, and various policy decisions to develop a 5-year forecast of the City’s financial picture. Departments and affiliated agencies submit their budget requests in late winter. After a series of rigorous discussions, budget proposals are prioritized, refined, compiled, and integrated into the Recommended Operating Budget that is presented to the City Council no later than the third Monday in May.

The City Council then reviews the recommended budget for each City department and affiliated agency and allows for public input before adopting the annual fiscal year budget no later than June 30.