Karen Burnett-Kurie: Lots of opportunities for input on Wolfeboro town budget

To The Daily Sun, 

Wolfeboro’s town budget goes through a 16 step process each year. Most steps are open to the public. As well, various drafts and versions of the budget are posted on the town website for anyone’s review.

Department heads start the process by working with their staff and consultants to develop their budget. Those go to the town manager who reviews them, discusses them with the department heads and makes initial changes.

Then the town manager presents the draft budget to the selectboard. The board meets with each department head, each agency requesting funding, along with the town manager, in a series of public meetings. They review the budget line by line, making suggestions for changes and cuts.

After the selectboard completes its review they send the draft budget to the Budget Committee. Each committee member is assigned two departments to review more closely. At the same time, the Committee as a whole meets with each department head, each agency requesting funding and the town manager in a series of public meetings.

Following the department meetings, the Budget Committee reviews the entire budget again, line by line. This version of the budget is then presented to the selectboard and citizens at a public information meeting.

Final changes and cuts are made between the Budget Committee, selectboard and town manager. Everyone's general expectation is creating a frugal budget, while funding necessary and state required operations.

The preliminary budget is then presented to the citizens in the Deliberative Session. Attendees have the opportunity to amend and alter the budget during this session. Once finalized the budget is put before the voters on town voting day. In the end, there is no doubt there are many opportunities for citizen input and feedback during our town's budget development process.

Karen Burnett-Kurie

Wolfeboro