City seeking community volunteers for Budgeting by Priorities process for 2013-14 budget

The City of Redmond will soon begin its Budgeting by Priorities (BP) process for the 2013-14 biennial budget and needs members of the community to volunteer to become a member of one of the six results teams.

One results team is formed for each budget priority: Business Vitality, Clean and Green Environment, Community Building, Infrastructure and Growth, Responsible Government and Safety.

The six priorities were created in 2008 when City Council and Mayor John Marchione instituted the new way of budgeting for Redmond. BP developed the city's last two biennial budgets, set performance measures and moved the focus of the budget toward services and programs valued most by residents.

Following initial training in early 2012, citizen results team members will work as part of a team to prioritize and rank city budget offers based on their likelihood to contribute towards the priority and city vision. They will then recommend to the mayor which offers should be considered for inclusion into the draft budget.

"The hard work performed by the result team citizen volunteers in 2008 and 2010 contributed to the success of our budget efforts to perform essential services while holding the line on taxes," Marchione said. "I look forward to working closely with those who step forward for selection this year."

Interested Redmond residents or those with a business in Redmond are encouraged to apply by sending a letter of interest to Marchione at mayor@redmond.gov. Volunteer requirements include the flexibility to meet with city staff during regular business hours and ability to devote up to 80 working hours between March and July 2012. Applications will be accepted for consideration until Feb. 1, 2012.

For more information about these volunteer positions or the BP process, contact the mayor's office at (425) 556-2101 or mayor@redmond.gov.

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