November 18, 2003
Calling Current Process 'Incestuous' Sam Adams Calls For Citizen Members Of Budget Committee
As the City nears the start of its annual budget process, City Council candidate Sam Adams (note: website not yet active) is calling for the addition of community members to the City's Budget Committee.
"City Councilors approve their own bureaus' budget requests," said Adams in a news release today. "The City's Budget Committee then evaluates those bureau budget requests based on the Mayor' s Proposed Budget and recommends an Approved Budget to the City Council for final adoption."
"The problem," Adams said, "is that membership on the City's Budget Committee and the Portland City Council are one and the same, thanks to a 1963 provision in Oregon Revised Statutes."
Arguing that Portland should follow the lead of other budget committees in other Oregon cities which include local citizens in addition to elected officials, Adams said, "They will raise the uncomfortable yet necessary questions will be asked before decisions are made about expenditures and results, and about financial assumptions."
Adams added, "Adding five citizens to the City's Budget Committee also could fill in any gaps in experience and knowledge that exist in any group of five City Councilors."
The proposal is only one of a larger set Adams is proposing for the budget process. Other proposals include a citywide strategic plan for City government, a requirement that City projects with significant fiscal impact undergo in-depth evaluation by outside stakeholders and independent experts, more meaningful citizen and business involvement early in the bureau budget making process, quarterly Budget Committee reviews and an annual report card, and increasing the number of bureau performance audits completed each year.
"The city had budget advisory committees at the bureau level," said Adams via email, "but most have been disbanded because they could not find enough people to serve on them. I think people were unwilling to serve on them because they took a lot of time and they were only advisory."
Adams said that because of the City's commission form of government, Portland needs citizen inclusion on the Budget Committee even more than cities following the more traditional city manager form.
As for the other elements of his proposal: "I think City Council at times makes major decisions without enough good unbiased information, so I proposed an independent review of major projects. I think bureau budgets would benefit from more citizen input up-front before the
capital budgets are finalized as well."
Adams, the former Chief of Staff for Mayor Vera Katz, is one of five currently-filed candidates for the Commissioner No. 1 position being vacated by Commissioner Jim Francesconi. The others are Woody Broadnax, Nick Fish, Brian H. Smith, and Jerry Watson.
Comments (2)
Dave Lister on 19 Nov 2003
Hooray for Sam! I think this is a great idea and I particularly like the statement:
"Adding five citizens to the City's Budget Committee also could fill in any gaps in experience and knowledge that exist in any group of five City Councilors."
which supports my contention that the city is hobbled by professional politicians who have little or no practical experience trying to run bureaus.
Folks with real world experience will look at estimates for things like the OHSU tram and the reservoir burial and double or treble them knowing that's how it usually goes. This review board, if it comes to pass, needs to be composed of the best and brightest business and financial heads in town, not city hall sycophants.
J. Blackmore on 25 Nov 2003
Hooray for Sam Adams! If anyone knows about city budget, after ten years as Chief of Staff in Mayor Katz office, he does!