City of South Pasadena Community Forum 2016

The City of South Pasadena invites community members to a Community Forum on the City’s Budget and Priorities on Saturday, March 12, 2016, at the Library Community Room, 1115 El Centro Street. Residents and community members have the opportunity to participate in an interactive process aimed at identifying the projects and programs the City should focus on during the upcoming year. Doors open at 8:30 a.m., and the program will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The City will forgo the annual strategic planning session and instead hold a Community Forum to engage in meaningful dialogue with stakeholders about the budget and competing priorities. “Over the years, the Strategic Plan has identified values and priorities important to the community,” said City Manager Sergio Gonzalez. “This year, we have an opportunity to have an honest conversation, about the financial constraints facing the City, present and future, and begin to prioritize the projects and programs that are most important to the community.”

Public participation is highly encouraged. The Community Forum will consist of two parts. The first portion will be an overview of the City’s fiscal health and operational budget. Participants will come to understand what it takes to maintain the service levels residents have come to expect, and the impending challenges that the City faces. Then, participants will consider high-visibility and high-priority projects that are beyond the dayto-day normal operations of the City, and provide input as to the order the City should tackle them.

“This Community Forum will give the public an opportunity to be involved in the decision-making process and, with the collective interests of the community in mind, set priorities for future City budgets,” says Gonzalez. “The process will be both educational, as we describe and acknowledge realities, and collaborative, as we work together to identify our common goals and focus our efforts in order to be more productive and efficient.”

The Community Forum is an integral part of the Budget process, providing both an educational component as well as a mechanism to receive community input. Residents will also have several opportunities to provide input at public meetings: on Wednesday, April 27, the City Council and staff will hold a Budget Study Session in the City Council Chambers, 1424 Mission Street, to review the proposed Capital Improvement Plan as well as staff funding requests for the upcoming year. At the May 18 City Council meeting, staff will present a draft budget for Fiscal Year 2016-17. Finally, at the June 1 City Council meeting, the City will hold a public hearing to discuss the proposed budget and, potentially, adopt it. Public comment is encouraged at each meeting.

For information on the Community Forum, please visit www.southpasadenaca.gov/CommunityForum. For more information on the City’s budget process, please visit www.southpasadenaca.gov/Budget.

If you have any questions, please contact the Management Services Department at (626) 403-7210 or email cmoffice@southpasadenaca.gov.