New Orleans, LA – October 25, 2010 – Today, the City Council will hold its first session of 2011 budget hearings beginning at 10 a.m. in the City Council Chamber.
This year, the City’s budget presentation and hearing format will follow the “Budgeting for Outcomes” model, which represents a change by both the Administration and the Council. The 2011 Budget is not organized by department, as has been a common practice in the past, but rather by “result area.” The new system defines goals and asks departments to propose a specific budget allotment which will be used to achieve the desired result. Click here to view the Mayor’s 2011 Budget Overview.
In keeping with the “Budgeting for Outcomes” model, the Council’s budget hearings will no longer be focused exclusively on one department’s budget; instead the hearings will be organized thematically around the following result areas: Children and Families, Economic Development, Innovation, Sustainable Communities, Open and Effective Government, and Public Safety. The Council’s Budget Committee will convene for each hearing with the Council Committee appropriate to each result area.
Budget Committee Chair and Council President Arnie Fielkow said, “The advance presentation of the budget this year will give the Council fifty percent more time to conduct our public budget analysis and will provide adequate time for public input. This new method of approaching the City budget process will provide opportunity for more policy-oriented discussions throughout the course of the hearing process. The goal is to create a more user-friendly budget that reprioritizes spending, utilizing a citizen-driven approach that establishes expected outcomes and metrics for measuring performance in the budget process.”
This week’s hearing schedule is below. As the hearing schedule is subject to change, please visit the Council’s website for the most up to date information, as well as the full budget hearing schedule.
Monday, October 25
Result Area: Budget Overview, Tax Levy (includes presentation on special tax districts) and Revenue Budget
Committee: Budget
Tuesday, October 26
Result Area: Children and Families
Committees: Budget, Youth & Recreation and Health Care & Social Services
Wednesday, October 27
Result Area: Economic Development
Committees: Budget, Economic Development & Special Development Projects
Result Area: Innovation
Committees: Budget and Governmental Affairs
Thursday, October 28
Result Area: Sustainable Communities, Part 1
Committees: Budget, Economic Development & Special Development Projects, Public Works, Housing & Human Needs and Transportation
Live streaming video, as well as archived video, of all 2011 budget hearings will be available here on the City Council’s website. For information on how to access and use the streaming video functionality, click here.
The Council must adopt the 2011 budget by December 1. For additional information on the 2011 City Budget process, click here.
Contact:
Evelyn F. Pugh
Interim Council Chief of Staff
Ph: (504) 658-1082
