The City of Hercules is gearing up to update its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023-2024 budget, beginning with workshops and Council meetings. The community is invited to attend workshops to join the conversation and share their priorities and interests.
The budget workshops are an effective way to glean community feedback while providing an educational opportunity to learn about this important process. Residents may attend the budget workshops, starting in April, at 7 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers. The next upcoming workshop dates:
- Tuesday, April 25 – Budget Workshop
- Tuesday, May 9 – Review of the proposed annual budget
- Tuesday, June 6 – Tentative date for adoption of the annual budget
To begin the budget process education, the City recently released an educational video explaining the budget aspects and steps. The video outlines a city’s financial planning and management and the most critical steps in forming and utilizing the budget.
This FY, the budget process will also include planning the Draft Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) along with the Ten-Year Capital Funding Plan. At the March 28 City Council meeting, Council received and provided direction on the Draft CIP and Ten-Year Capital Funding Plan. This program outlines the budget and strategic spending the city will utilize for long and short-term building and maintenance projects. The CIP’s allocated funding is intended to upkeep and expand the City for the extended community, including residents, tourists, businesses and more.
The City’s overall budget provides the community with public safety, facility upkeep and maintenance. The CIP utilizes a portion of this budget and meticulously organizes the schedule and plans of City projects over the course of ten years. While the CIP typically covers a five-year span, a longer term is required to address the scale of the Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan updates that are in the works and allow the flexibility for future projects. Despite the extensive timeline of this CIP, the document is reviewed annually to keep track of ongoing projects, assess future plans and report on progress.
“The annual budget and Capital Improvement Program updates are a great opportunity to celebrate our past successes, touch base with continuous projects and stay on track with our future goals,” stated Mayor Alexander Walker-Griffin. “It is of the utmost priority
to ensure that our community receives necessary maintenance while continuing to expand infrastructure and facilities throughout the City. We encourage our residents to share their priorities at the upcoming budget workshops.”
For more information on the City’s workshops and related events, visit the calendar on the website.