How is the budget formed?
Budget are fluid and so is budget formation: Did it snow more in that given year? What was the price of gas? Inflationary impacts? Just like your household budget, there is nothing fixed about a City budget. There are some touchpoints helpful to know in budget formation and typical timeline.
In summertime the departments submit their budget forecasts. They typically receive direction from central governent the CAO and the CFO offices who support them. This year they were asked to consider the Strategic Priorities Action Plan Council worked on and passed.
This summer 2023, I kicked off multi-year budget consultations with the Climate Justice and Adaptation Session at the Holiday Inn.
Throughout the summer and fall, as routine local Councillor duties, I consider ward requests, including roads, park and recreations requests, and the health of the budget mechanisms and granting mechanisms I have.
As a member of the EPC I have special duties flowing from the Charter of the City of Winnipeg to table a budget for Council’s consideration. This is the first time I was am not part of the discrete budget working group. So, in early summer, I submitted a large briefing note as part of my pre-budget draft work.
In fall and winter the budget working group continues budget formation until special standing policy committee meetings begin anticipated in the first two months of the New Year formulating draft budget in January 2024 and accordingly in line with the City of Winnipeg Charter, the budget must be passed in March.