The city of Williams Lake is encouraging residents to participate in a roundtable public engagement session on Thursday, Sept. 12 to provide input on the 2014 budget process.
“Each member of council will be in attendance, sitting at tables and speaking to members of the public,” the city noted in press release. “City managers will be on hand to provide support for the discussions. Everyone is invited to come speak to council members and provide their thoughts the budget process, municipal operations, and the city’s vision.”
Information available at the meeting will include the five-year financial plan, a departmental cost breakdown, the five-year capital plan, business plan, long-term debt analysis, and financial forecasting.
The same information will also be made available on the city’s website at www.williamslake.ca.
“We have made great progress in improving the budget process over the past four years, and now we are taking another huge step forward,” Mayor Kerry Cook said. “We want residents to fill the Gibraltar Room and sit down with us so we can hear what they want to see next year’s budget look like.”
Cook described it as a chance to help choose how Williams Lake moves forward. “A municipal budget affects everyone in the community, and we want everyone in the community to participate in this meeting.” Following the meeting, there will be additional public meetings during September and October where council will discuss public input and deliberate the budget.
It is anticipated the provisional 2014 budget will be approved in November.
“Having a provisional budget in place allows for improved planning of capital projects, and a simplified process as council deliberates the final budget, which is required to be submitted to the provincial government in May,” the press release noted.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Gibraltar Room at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex on Thursday, Sept. 12.