BUDGET ADVOCATES REPORT - APRIL 2025

BUDGET ADVOCATES REPORT April 2025

Mayor Bass released her proposed Budget for the 2025-2026 Fiscal Year on Monday, April 21.  During her State of the City address, she said the shortfall was around $800 million.  The shortfall is the result of new, costly labor agreements (particularly for the Police Department), revenues that did not live up to the previous budget’s optimistic projections, and an unrealistically low budget for liability payouts.  This budget shortfall did not have to be.  Better, more realistic budgeting would have left us on more solid ground, but here we are.

The Mayor’s Budget proposes an annual $25,000 allocation for each Neighborhood Council for next fiscal year.  This is half the budget Neighborhood Councils were allocated at the beginning of the Neighborhood Council system over 20 years ago.  Since that time, the Neighborhood Council budgets have been cut in response to fiscal pressures.  While the budget was increased in 2019 from $37,000 to $42,000, the trajectory of Neighborhood Council budgets has been down.  Following the citywide budget decreases in response to the Covid-19 lockdown, the departments’ budgets were restored and the Neighborhood Councils’ reduced budgets remained in place.  

Neighborhood Councils have expenses and face inflationary pressures.  Since the first Neighborhood Council allocation in 2003, the average U.S. annual inflation was 2.54%.  $1 of purchasing power in 2003 is equivalent to $1.74 in purchasing power today.

The Neighborhood Councils have already taken our budget cuts.

We urge you to learn more about the Mayor’s proposed Budget.  The Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates are hosting a Town Hall on the topic, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. virtually via Zoom.  Please share the attached flyer on your NC website and on your NC social media.  Please register in advance at http://tiny.cc/2025-2026BudgetTownHall.

You can read the Mayor’s Budget on the City Administrative Officer’s website.  The City Controller has a presentation where he lays out the Budget from his perspective.

The City Council Budget and Finance Committee has started meeting on the proposed Budget and we urge you to weigh in.  Here is a template you can use as an aid to writing a Community Impact Statement about the pending Neighborhood Council budget, and any other budgetary issue, to Council File 25-0600.

On another subject, Council File 25-0314 proposes to create a five-person advisory group on the City’s finances and Budget.  We support this idea and think someone from the Neighborhood Council system should be one of the five participants.  Moreover, that participant should be a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate.  The Budget Advocates have a history for the last 14 years of making recommendations to the City for its budget.  We request your Neighborhood Council to write a CIS for this Council File.  Here is a template you can use as an aid.

Neighborhood Council Budget Day, coming 9:00 a.m. the morning of Saturday, June 21, 2025 at City Hall, provides additional opportunity to learn about the Budget.  By that time the new Budget will be approved and we will be able to learn what we have and what the Budget’s impact on services in our neighborhoods will be.  Mayor Bass has been invited; City Controller Kenneth Mejia and the City Council Budget and Finance Committee chair Katy Yaroslavsky are confirmed speakers.  There will be a panel discussion on the topic City Services:  Budgetary Transparency and Accountability.  The plenary session will be followed by Regional Breakout Sessions where participants will have the opportunity to discuss City services, or lack thereof, in their neighborhoods.  Come early for breakfast and networking beginning at 7:30 a.m.  Please save the date and post the attached Save the Date graphic to your Neighborhood Council website and social media.

Leading up to Neighborhood Council Budget Day, we ask each Neighborhood Council to appoint two Budget Representatives.  Please be sure to send email to [email protected] to alert us of any changes and/or additions to your Budget Representative appointments.  This is a critical time for your involvement.

If you are able, please support our work by agendizing a contribution to “Neighborhood Council Budget Day” on your May Board meeting agenda and submit the check request to the City Clerk NC Funding Program by May 31, 2025 (this Fiscal Year’s deadline).

Please visit BudgetAdvocates.org to learn more.

Thank you for your participation with our Neighborhood Councils.

Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates

BudgetAdvocates.org