For Immediate Release:
Friday, May 14, 2021
City Council
Announces Review Process for 2021-22 City Budget
Councilmember Malik D. Evans, Chair of
City Council’s Finance Committee, announced today that the Council has
scheduled its review process for the Mayor’s proposed 2021-22 City budget. The
City Council conducts the most extensive public analysis of any local municipal
budget, convening a process that consists of individual departmental review
sessions and a public hearing before the final budget vote.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City
Council has made the decision to conduct budget hearings via videoconference
that will be broadcast live on YouTube and Cable Channel 1303. Broadcasting the
budget hearings provides interested City residents and business owners an
opportunity to watch the Council’s in-depth review of the Mayor’s proposed
spending plan.
“Council takes very seriously our
responsibility of reviewing the 2021-22 budget
released by Mayor Warren today. We intend to engage, as we do every year, in a
thoughtful review of the budget despite the accommodations that have been made
to follow health department guidelines that discourage large gatherings,” said
Council President Loretta C. Scott. “I am very grateful for our City’s fiscal
stewardship, which has been consistent for decades. Like those who came
before us, our current Mayor and Councilmembers have worked diligently to
ensure that we have in place a fund balance policy that prepares us for a rainy
day.”
“Based on my initial review of the budget,
I am pleased to see that vital services to our community will remain intact,
and we are grateful for the CARES funding we have received over the past year
that has helped to make this possible. It is also gratifying to note that
the Police Accountability Board and other much needed public safety initiatives
are being generously supported,” Scott continued.
Constituents will also have an opportunity
to offer comments about the proposed budgets for both the City of Rochester and
the Rochester City School District at a joint public hearing to be held by the
City Council and the Board of Education on Wednesday, June 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Details on how to participate will be forthcoming and will be made available on
the City’s website at www.cityofrochester.gov/publicmeetings.
The Council is expected to vote on the
City’s and the School District’s proposed spending plans at its monthly meeting
on June 15, 2021.
Copies of the proposed City budget are
available for review online at www.cityofrochester.gov/citybudget/. The public is
encouraged to contact the City Council Office at (585) 428-7538 or council@cityofrochester.gov with any
questions about the review process.
In addition to Councilmember Evans, the
Finance Committee is comprised of Councilmembers Michael A. Patterson and
LaShay D. Harris; President Loretta C. Scott and Vice President Willie J.
Lightfoot serve as ex-officio members.
Listed below is the schedule for the
2021-22 budget hearings and related meetings. Plans currently call for all
hearings and meetings to be held via videoconference. Details on how to access
these events can be found at www.cityofrochester.gov/publicmeetings.
The following budget hearings will take
place at the following times:
Wednesday, June 2, 2021:
9:00 a.m. – 9:30
a.m. – Council/Clerk/PAB
9:30 a.m. – 11:00
a.m. – Administration
11:05 a.m. –
12:45 p.m. – Department of Environmental Services
12:45 p.m. – 1:45
p.m. – Lunch Recess
1:50 p.m. – 2:40
p.m. – Rochester Fire Department
2:45 p.m. – 4:00
p.m. – Department of Recreation and Human Services
4:05 p.m. – 5:00
p.m. – Emergency Communications
Tuesday, June 8, 2021:
9:00 a.m. – 9:15
a.m. – Undistributed/Contingency
9:20 a.m. – 10:15
a.m. – Information Technology
10:20 a.m. –
11:15 a.m. – Finance
11:20 a.m. –
12:00 p.m. – Library
12:05 p.m. – 1:05
p.m. – Lunch Recess
1:10 p.m. – 3:10
p.m. – Rochester Police Department
3:15 p.m. – 5:00
p.m. – Department of Neighborhood and Business Development
Wednesday, June 9, 2021:
9:00 a.m. – 3:30
p.m. – Hold for Adjourned Hearings
3:30 p.m. –
Rochester School District Budget
5:30 p.m. – Joint
Public Hearing with the Rochester City School Board
Thursday,
June 10, 2021:
4:00 p.m. –
Finance Committee Meeting
(Only if needed will an adjourned Finance Committee Meeting be held at the end
of regular Committee Meetings)
Tuesday, June 15, 2021:
7:30 p.m. – City
Council Meeting
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Media
Contact: Condenessa Brown: condenessa.brown@cityofrochester.gov