HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-24-24 Public Comment - R. Rydell - city budgetFrom:Robert Rydell
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]city budget
Date:Thursday, June 20, 2024 9:04:50 PM
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20 June 2024
To: Bozeman City Commission
Fm: Bob and Kiki Rydell
RE: City Budget
We are writing to express our concern about the budget, and, more precisely, about the
budgeting process. Our concerns follow.
First, based on reporting and editorials in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, is it true that there are
two sets of forecasts about Bozeman’s future growth? One is from the US Census and
forecasts a growth rate of 1.2%; the other seems to have been developed by city staff and
projects a growth rate of 5.23%. There is a world of difference between these projections.
Which will guide your decision and why?
Second, after the debacle of the last year surrounding the UDC and the manifest loss of
confidence in city government tied to how the city communicated with taxpayers, it is striking
how many questions remain in mid-June about this budget. In addition to those raised by the
newspaper, we would ask: How many new positions are actually being proposed for the city?
How many are actually replacement positions? How, exactly, are these positions justified?
Which ones are the most important and why? How many are necessary as opposed to
desirable? Further, how will the Commission prioritize what gets funded? If growth over the
next few years doesn’t meet the Commission’s expectations, what plans are in place for
cutbacks? Last hired, first fired? Which of these new positions are most expendable? The
bottom line here is this: perhaps the newspaper got some things wrong, but the City did a
poor job informing the public about the budget process.
Now for the uncomfortable part. This two-year budget is going to be determined by votes
from two unelected Commissioners, one of whom has been on the job for weeks, not months.
Has the most recent appointee had time to delve into the data (in the plural), meet with
department heads, and hear from constituents? If more time is necessary to think through this
budget, please take it.
What to do? If the newspaper got it wrong, explain why with evidence and do so before you
make your final decision about this budget. And as you think through this budget, please
revisit the city’s core values and ask yourselves how many new miles of asphalt do we want to
fund? And how many new dwellings do we want to plan for with a limited water supply?
Sincerely,
Bob and Kiki Rydell
622 South Grand Ave