Thoughts to start the review of the FY21 Budget

Last night the City Manager presented his proposed fiscal year 2021 budget to the Council. This kicks off the normal annual budget review cycle where the Council hears presentations from each Department (including the Schools) and deliberates on the proposed levels of funding with a goal of making final decisions in early to mid-May in advance of the new fiscal year that starts July 1.

I want to underscore as the City Manager did that this is the START of the deliberations, what has been proposed is by no means final as the Council has just received it last night for consideration. In addition, the City Manager rightly underscored that this proposed budget was developed through an internal review and deliberation process among City staff and leadership over the course of the past several months and as such was nearly complete prior to the latest developments with COVID-19.

The City Manager and the Council members all recognize that the economic outlook has changed drastically for our residents, our businesses, and the City itself. We ask for your input, your perspectives, and especially your patience as we all work to understand the landscape that has shifted under all our feet. There are many unknowns right now about what taxes will look like, what other resources will be available from the State and Federal government to help our community, and what other changes are coming down the line. Please trust that we are all looking for ways to mitigate the impact to our community and build towards an effective recovery in the long run.

All members of the Council take our budget authority very seriously and understand the implications our decisions have for residents and for City and School operations. Now is the time for productive dialog about where we all see this City going over the coming months and into the future.

The proposed budget materials are available online (https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/open-government/budget-revealed/fy2021-budget/index.html) and additional presentations will be added as each Department provides the details of their proposal to us. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me (L.Williams@dover.nh.gov or 603-534-2119), or to the whole Council (CityCouncil-All@dover.nh.gov or 603-516-MEET) about the budget or any of the concerns or challenges you are facing right now.

Thank you for your input and your patience while we all learn together through these hard times.