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Ellis FY23 Budget Priorities

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:46 am
by Julie Montgomery
Posted on behalf of CM Ellis:

Colleagues,

Now that I’ve had the opportunity to hear from my constituents at the District 8 Budget Town Hall and to gather further community input at Council’s first listening session, I’d like to begin laying out my thinking and priorities for the FY23 Budget.

Please note that I have submitted a number of questions to the Budget Office, and as I continue to gather input from the community, all the information I receive will shape my final approach to the amendments and riders I introduce. I also welcome the chance to consider your priorities and ideas, colleagues, as we proceed with our Budget deliberations.

Here are my current priorities and topics I’m investigating for potential amendments or riders:

Parks & Pools
- Maintaining the FY22 Lifeguard Bonuses
- Investing in Nature Play and Wayfinding
- Modernizing PARD Facility Security & Access

Public Safety & Reducing Gun Violence
- Maintaining funding for gun locks & safe storage
- Supporting Office of Violence Prevention staffing & programming

Safe & Welcoming Streets
- Fully funding a Vision Zero Traffic Enforcement ILA
- Supporting Neighborhood Speed Mitigation
- Fully implementing Living Streets

Climate Change & Public Health
- Supporting eBike Rebates
- Maintaining funding for Clean Air Coalition membership dues
- Preserving reproductive health funding (Redirecting abortion logistics funding)

Employee Recruitment & Retention
- Incentivizing experienced former City employees to return (eliminate the continuity-of-service requirement in Vacation Leave and Service Incentive Pay (SIP) accrual formulas)
- Incentivizing current City employees to stay longer (lower the SIP eligibility threshold to 2 or 3 years of service; make the FY22 winter holiday bonus permanent)
- Making our benefits package more attractive to current and potential City employees (offer a third personal holiday per year; expand the Tuition Reimbursement Program)


Again, I hope to receive information back from staff indicating many of these priorities are already met in the Manager’s proposed budget, so that amendments are not necessary. This is, of course, a challenging Budget year, and our community’s many needs and priorities will have to be balanced as we deliberate together this week and next.

I look forward to our discussions!

Paige