InTucker Magazine

From the Mayor

The main function of our Mayor and Council is to set policy for government operations that then guides our City Manager and staff on their daily work providing services for residents and businesses. That guidance starts with a budget and our City Charter requires ours to be a balanced, zero-base budget. The budget season starts about mid-way through the fiscal year. In February of each year, department heads are asked to project their annual operating needs, cost of proposed capital projects identified by the Comprehensive Plan or respective master plans, and any requests for additional staff positions. From there City Management weighs the needs of each department against the available estimated revenues and starts the creation of the budget.

Running concurrently with the operating budget is a discussion of the Capital Improvement Plan. The CIP is a multi-year budget planning tool that helps council, staff and the public to understand the funding needs, prioritization and scheduling of large scale projects. It is important to note that the CIP is not a guarantee of funding or project approval. It is a tool for staff and your elected officials to use in understanding how to best allocate funding each year.

Once all the data is available and departmental requests are in, the City Manager is
required to submit a balanced budget for Council’s consideration. Later this month, staff will publish that first draft of the proposed budget, including the capital projects for Fiscal Year 2026. The next steps involve public hearings and discussion of the proposals. Public comment will be a part of both public hearings, one in May, and one in June (of course, you are welcomed and encouraged to reach out to your representatives any time, not just at public hearings). We hope to approve a final budget after the second reading and public hearing in June.

One of the main motivators for our Tucker government is fiscal transparency. On our website we have all our past budgets available in addition to monthly reports of revenues and expenditures. I’m publishing this column on this subject now because it has historically been more the norm than the rule that the public tends to engage at the end of the process, once we are near a vote, and many decisions have been made. Now is the time to start taking a look at the parts of the budget that are of interest to you, and making your thoughts known to your elected representatives!

I’m grateful to our staff and to our Council for the effort and professionalism that has gone into our budgeting process for many years now. In fact, our annual audits and financial reporting have received The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting granted by the GFOA every year consecutively since 2018 and for the FY25 Budget Book. We have operated on an extremely small budget through often uncertain times, and I’m proud of the diligence and care we have applied to this most fundamental responsibility.

We’ve accomplished a lot on limited resources, and that’s how it should be. Your engagement and holding us accountable are vital parts of the process and of our success. As always, thanks for allowing me to serve.