People wanting to have a closer look at the city’s budget process are invited to attend two budget-meeting discussions at Williams Lake’s city hall on Jan. 17 and Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.
Mayor Kerry Cook says the purpose of the meetings is to let residents watch council and staff discuss the budget.
“This is an improvement on our usual budget process,” Cook says, adding the meetings will be in addition to receiving budget information packages and public consultation meetings.
In the discussions by council and staff, challenges and opportunities in the budget and long-term financial planning will be addressed.
As soon as future meeting dates are determined, they will be announced, but in the mean time, the city says budget information packages are expected to be available on the city’s website on the Fridays prior to the meetings.
A formal public consultation meeting on the 2012 budget and five-year financial plan will be held in March.
Under the Community Charter, the city’s financial plan and property tax rates must be adopted by May 15 of each year.