This is the time of year that the frantic activity of graduation ceremonies and transitions is mirrored by a change in seasons. With relief from the pressures of ending a school year and emergence into longer, warm days that invite vacations and leisure pursuits, comes a pause that can conjure personal and collective introspection. As with students who can review past accomplishments and look forward to new challenges, ventures and opportunities within their cadre or on their own, this time for reflection can also apply to our own social and political communities.
City councils are currently in the process of reviewing and adopting Annual Budgets and Capital Improvement Programs that guide use of tax and grant monies received. Much time and effort has been expended preparing these documents and, although a bit overwhelming if considered in a single review, there are many parts that can hold particular interest to almost everyone who lives and/or works in the area. If you care about housing, safety, transportation, shopping, street repairs, solvency, growth, environment and a host of other factors that affect daily living, then this is the document for you. Similar to a personal budget and plan for future expenditures, this is an outline of how your money will be spent in the current year and beyond. Income and expenses, although on a larger scale than a typical family, are remarkably similar.
Families have basic needs that must be met for survival no matter what the economic circumstance. If possible, we use our money as wisely as possible to meet those needs and have a bit left over for intermittent or discretionary expenses – car repairs, holidays, vacations, college, employment changes, etc. A critical component for our future security is a rainy-day fund to make sure that when the unforeseen happens, money is set aside to offset any shortfall. In the best of circumstances, our plans and income coincide to achieve current and future personal and financial goals. Does this always work as planned? Usually not… we need course corrections over time as do our civic organizations. The process of review is not only a good thing in our personal lives, but so important for our collective welfare that cities, counties and governments are required to review this on a regular basis in public documents and presentations.
Not only do these documents let the public know how money is spent, but reveal the structure, goals and standards of the organization as well. Past performance and comparisons to future use of monies and personnel is discussed in an understandable manner. Even if financial documents are not your interest, the overview portions of these voluminous reports minimize detailed charts and graphs, summarizing in relatively few pages. For accountancy-minded individuals, detailed analysis of Operating Budgets and Capital Improvement Programs are a delight, but for the rest of us, the overview contained within them succinctly reflects a sense of purpose and serious introspection of the resources used to operate our communities.
Now might be a good time to not only reflect on personal circumstances, but our civic security and comfort as well.