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Budget Process Department Heads will prepare a budget request for review by the City Manager, with assistance from the Finance Director as needed. The budget request will be accompanied by a list of the primary objectives within each program. The City Manager will schedule budget meetings with each Department to review the budget in detail, and revise as needed. The City Manager will subsequently submit a budget for Council review. To ensure that the Council is knowledgeable about all city functions and programs, and can make an informed decision on the budget, Staff is intending to schedule a series of budget work sessions with the Council. The purpose of the work sessions will be to provide a public forum where each Department Head can give an overview of the programs in which they have administrative responsibility, and are accountable for. The overview would include the primary activities and major cost items. In this initial round of work sessions, Staff is anticipating a minimum of 8-10 hours of presentation and discussion spread over 3-4 work sessions. This may necessitate the need to hold Council work sessions, in addition to those that are regularly scheduled prior to Council meetings. Subsequent work sessions to discuss the City's compensation and benefit package will be held sometime in the fa11. By obtaining a general understanding of a11 city functions and their interdependencies, the Council should be in a position to make informed decisions on the budget. Budget Timeline To ensure that all statutorial deadlines are met, and to allow sufficient time in preparing and discussing the budget, the following budget timeline has been tentatively set. By May 3 1, 2002, each Department Head will submit a budget request to the Finance Department who will assemble the budget for review by the City Manager. At the 7une 17, 2002 Council Meeting the City Manager will submit for Council review a tentative schedule of budget work sessions. By 7une 30, 2002, the City Manager will ha�e met with all departments to review and revise the budget. Beginning on July 15, 2002, or thereafter, City Staff will present an overview of the budget at a series of budget work sessions. The City Council will be requested to take formal action to adopt a preliminary budget and tax levy at the August 19, 2002 Council Meeting. (Please note that by adopting a preliminary budget and tax levy, the Council is setting a"not to exceed" limit on city expenditures. The final budget and levy can still be reduced after August 19, but it cannot be increased). A subsequent work session(s) to address the compensation and benefit package will be scheduled at a later time, sometime in the fa11. In addition, the Council will be asked to schedule a truth-in- taxation hearing in early December, 2002, and be prepared to adopt a final budget and tax levy in late December, 2002.