The Budget Advisory Committee was established with 11 members of the public and will provide fiscal decision-making advice to the council in relation to the budgets and establish methods for public participation and improved transparency into fiscal decision making for the upcoming budgets.
The committee has compiled a final report regarding their directives to clarify focus areas related to expenditures, revenues, and financial policies which will help the City improve citizens participation and further drive accountability and greater transparency.
Subcommittees were formed to focus on specific topics.
Enterprise: To examine the opportunity to re-allocate net revenue from existing sources and potential sources to fund community-based goals.
Transparency & Accountability: To examine ways to improve public participation, collaboration, transparency, and accountability in the City’s fiscal decision-making process; and research the Participatory Budgeting Process used by some cities to enhance public participation, collaboration, and transparency in local government fiscal decision-making.
Fiscal Budget Goals & Objectives: To examine the council goals and objectives and workplan that led to the adoption of the fiscal year 2020-2021 budget; identify opportunities to change the goals and objectives that could guide fiscal health of the City for the upcoming fiscal year budget; recommend how community policing might be reflected in the budget; review the City’s General Fund reserves and what the appropriate percentage of funding should be for fiscal health, in addition to areas such as General Fund for seniors, parks and recreation, administration, community development, homelessness, and others that the subcommittee sees fit.
Budget Comparison: To review and analyze other city budgets in California, with comparable population to Fairfield, to identify any major variances between in process, allocation, or major line item spending. The cities included are Alameda, Antioch, Benicia, Berkeley, Carlsbad, Concord, Davis, Dixon, Fairfield, Hayward, Livermore, Murrieta, Napa, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, Richmond, Rio Vista, Roseville, Sacramento, San Leandro, Santa Maria, Suisun City, Thousand Oaks, Vacaville, and Vallejo; and review the City of Fairfield‘s Strategic Goals and associated workplans, status, and performance to expected outcomes in terms of results, timeliness, cost.
The committee will present their findings and recommendations to the council, and request that the committee be continued as an ongoing committee with more clarity and focus as it relates to budget transparency.