2. Lengthen the budget cycle to make time for strategy and oversightCouncil's main job is policy, and policy should drive the budget. To that end, our council has worked to fully establish an outcomes-based budget with a citywide strategic plan, a process begun in 2021. It started with the city manager's initiative, and council adopted it as a council-level framework with public participation. It grounds the budget in the results we are investing in. But our budget cycle runs every year and looks only one year out, which limits time for substantive dialogue about how spending follows the priorities we've set. I'd like to see council explore a two-year cycle. That would build in time up front to align city goals, departmental plans, and investments. Departments could more fully present their plans with key priorities and tradeoffs. Council would have room to ask questions, residents would get a more predictable process, and we would avoid last-minute changes that can be unintentionally damaging. 3. Create a council-level capital committee to plan upkeep citywideFive years ago, a facilities master plan put all of the city's buildings and their maintenance needs into one inventory for the first time. Our council elevated what it showed, which is more than $500 million in deferred maintenance across 75 public buildings. We then brought a proposal to voters in the form of ballot issue 2K. Whatever voters decide, the measure has catalyzed a community discussion that in some ways puts Boulder ahead of peer cities in having our arms around long-term asset management. But a ballot measure is a single decision, and taking care of what we own is ongoing work. Beyond buildings, the city is responsible for roads, infrastructure, and open space. We still lack a council-led process for keeping all of those obligations in view year after year, along with how they roll up into the overall financial picture a dashboard would show. To improve our footing, I'd like to see council create a committee or similar body, owned and led by council, to track deferred maintenance and total cost of ownership across every department. My colleague Tina Marquis has raised this idea, and I'm glad to support and build on it. The committee would test our cost assumptions against climate and other pressures, and the city would fund upkeep according to a plan. *** I hope to help move these three initiatives forward in 2027. Each would make local government more predictable and effective, so Boulder can work for everyone, now and in the future.
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