EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY		CONTACT:	Marta Gronlund, 425-638-2333
February 11, 2008

Mayor Appoints Guidance Team

To Oversee New Budgeting Process New Mayor John Marchione has hit the ground running at the start of his first term with a vision that includes a plan for changing how the City defines its priorities for 2008 and beyond.

This plan calls for instituting an innovative budgeting process called Budgeting by Priorities (BP). While this budgeting approach will be new to Redmond, it has already proven to be a very effective tool for a number of communities throughout our state and the US.

In essence, the BP model requires that the City work quite differently from past budgeting practices. Instead of starting with the last year’s budget, adding a factor for inflation and perhaps a few new initiatives, this budgeting process is a bottom-up approach. Budgeting by Priorities requires citizen involvement and a new way of thinking for City staff. All the services the City provides are reconsidered through the prism of what services the citizens’ value most. The final budget “buys” only those services most valued by the citizens.

To help oversee the process, a Guidance Team has been appointed by Mayor Marchione. “The role of this team is to monitor our progress and confirm its integrity,” notes Mayor Marchione. “I am excited that such a diverse and committed group of people have agreed to serve us in this important capacity.”

The members of the team are as follows:
Cecilia Contreras, an Education Hill resident who has been involved in diversity issues with the City and most recently chaired the highly successful Los Santos Reyes festival as part of RedmondLights.

Chris Enslein, a Viewpoint resident highly active in the PTSA and instrumental in garnering city-wide support for last year’s successful Public Safety levy.

Chris Hoffman, the CEO of the Redmond Chamber of Commerce is actively involved in Redmond’s business community, working to ensure economic vitality.

Dr. Chip Kimball, Superintendent of the Lake Washington School District is an experienced education leader with a background in assessment and technology, spending 12 years working to improve the area’s schools.

Jim Stanton, Senior Community Affairs Manager in Microsoft’s Real Estate and Facilities Division works on current development issues and is also an experienced planner and manager who once worked for the City of Redmond.

The team will meet four times during the BP process, first reviewing the factors, measures and purchasing strategies necessary to achieve each priority and then discussing the offers submitted by the departments detailing how each propose to produce the priority, how much it will cost and how its success will be measured. Throughout all this work, the Guidance Team is responsible for ensuring the citizen’s priorities established early in the process will be met.

For more details on the process and timelines, view the Budgeting by Priorities pages on the City website.

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