the slow death of the budget advisory commission

I first mentioned the idea of a budget advisory commission in early 2006 when I was a council member. I mentioned it during a "council member report" at the end of a council meeting and suggested that we discuss the concept further at the next council meeting.  I was surprised that every member of the council (at least initially) thought it was a good idea.

What followed was a lesson in politics as three of our council members changed their minds by the time of the next council meeting and the idea was killed.  I remember smiling to myself as I heard each of three opponents voice the same concerns about having a citizen group involved in our budgeting process.

I wasn't too troubled by the council's change in direction because it was really a no-lose situation--if they agreed with me then I could take the credit for creating the commission; conversely, if they disagreed with me I had a nice talking point for the upcoming mayoral campaign.

The budget advisory commission was established in 2007, following my election as mayor in the fall of 2006. The BAC was filled with pretty high octane folks who spent a lot of time studying our budget and making recommendations to the city council.

City staff never liked the BAC.  More about that later.

That the BAC made recommendations which the council adopted was a bonus as to me the real beauty of the BAC was that it made our budgeting process far more open to our residents and taxpayers. 

Not everyone wanted that kind of openness, though.  Some would rather that certain issues not be publicly discussed. Some complained that the BAC's recommendations were infringing on the council's obligation to make policy for the city.

It's this last point--that the BAC was infringing on policy--that prompted this post as I read in the local paper last week that the new council intends to re-focus the BAC because of this supposed concern. 

The city has many commissions--planning, park and rec, conservation, human rights, and a few others.  Each of these commissions, if they are to do anything useful, "infringes" on city policy as part of their work. They always have and they always will.  The important point, though, is that each of these commissions can only make recommendations to the council--this is the important distinction to keep in mind.  It is for the council to consider and then accept or reject any "policy" recommendation. And, the council has accepted or rejected recommendations from all of its commissions.

The politicians on the city council are too smart to disband the BAC--that would be too easy an action to criticize.  So, when you hear people say that the BAC needs to be re-directed to keep it away from "policy" issues that's just political speak for killing the BAC.  I think that's a shame.