May 2, 2002

Budget forum on May 9

By Kate Spinner
Daily News Staff

NEWBURYPORT - Before councilors begin to deliberate on the mayor's proposed budget for fiscal year 2003, residents will have the opportunity to make their voices heard at a public forum next Thursday.

The forum, which will be held in the City Hall auditorium at 7 p.m., was established by the City Council a few weeks ago, as a means to allow residents to exchange ideas, concerns and opinions with the councilors who represent them.

Ward 3 Councilor Karen Kelley introduced the idea of holding the yearly forum just before the council's budget process begins. The intent of the meeting, she said, is to allow constituents a means to express their concerns and desires directly to city councilors.

Kelley said the forum will allow councilors a glimpse of "where people want their tax dollars to go."

"People don't really get involved in individual appropriations like they would in a town meeting," Kelley said. She said people are concerned about taxes though, and often don't make those concerns heard when the budgeting process is under way.

In future years, the annual public forum will be scheduled in March, before the mayor develops the proposed budget. Part of the impetus behind Kelley's decision to suggest the council's establishment of the forum as an annual event comes from the language in the city's original charter.

Section 20 of the 1851 charter reads, "General meeting of the citizens qualified to vote may form time to time be held to consult the public good, to give instructions to their representatives and to take all lawful measures to obtain redress for any grievances according to the right secured by the people by the constitution of this commonwealth."

Copies of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2003, which begins July 1, will be available at the forum, and residents will be invited to discuss the proposed expenditures. Councilors can then take those public priorities into consideration as they vote on proposed budget items in the coming weeks.

The public discussion will also give councilors a better idea of where public priorities lie, Kelley said.

For instance, Kelley said she would like to "hear from people if they want to forgo their own street paving for the paving of High Street."

"This forum is not intended to provide answers or easy resolutions: it is intended for constituents to consult with each other and their councilors on their priorities and influence how these priorities are addressed in the budgetary process," Kelley wrote in a letter addressed to the residents of Newburyport.

The meeting will begin with an introduction, and a reminder on individual ward designations. Then, residents will break off into their individual wards to discuss issues with their ward councilors. The five councilors-at-large will each join a ward group. One moderator and note-taker will be assigned to each group to record major points of concern and discussion.

Ten minutes of discussion will be dedicated to what is going well in the city and 30 minutes will be dedicated to the expression of wishes and concerns.

Following the ward meetings, the full group will reassemble and flip charts from notes taken in the ward meetings will be displayed at the front of the room. The group will then engage in a discussion that will be moderated by City Clerk John Moak and new Planning Board member Bonnie Sontag.