Denver City Council members have agreed to put a proposal on the November ballot that would change the city’s spending process to a biennial budget. This means the city could start writing budgets every two years, instead of every year.

Proposal Details

Supporters of the proposal, including Councilmember Shontel Lewis, argue that the current one-year cycle moves too quickly and doesn’t allow for adequate public input and long-term planning. Lewis stated, “We spend all year preparing and then passing a budget and have to begin to work on the next year’s budget about a month later. And so in order to begin to prepare again, moving to a two-year cycle will allow us to better evaluate how we are doing in any given budget cycle.”

The proposal would also allow the city to write shorter one-year budgets during times of economic uncertainty. City leaders would still only approve one year of spending at a time, with each year getting a separate vote, as required by the state constitution.

Council members Kevin Flynn and Flor Alvidrez voted against referring the proposal to voters, with Flynn arguing that the city can already make financial plans for multiple years and that the main disadvantage is the difficulty in projecting revenues for two years.

Public Input Process

The proposal would require a public input process, including surveys and community meetings, during the budget process. The city already holds a public hearing during budget season each year.

Original reporting: Denverite — read the source article.