Ah yes, Michigan has all the seasons: Winter, Spring Summer and Fall. But don’t forget about Construction Season, Hunting Season, and the oh so fun Budget Season. All communities do not have the same fiscal years. Some start with the calendar, beginning in January and ending in December. In Novi, we start our fiscal year in July and end in June.
It does not matter when your fiscal year starts, most organizations work about six months to build their budgets. Believe me, there is never enough money to do everything that everyone wants to do. Normally, in the front end of the process, the elected officials work with staff to lay out some of the priorities of the community. Then staff works on how to complete what the elected official laid out.
Each community is a little different in what the priorities are, and technology has really helped us refine the process. Most of the communities go out a few years into the future to see what affect the decision we make today has in the next few years. Our city council still has to vote on each annual budget, but typically you can project two years out very accurately. Years three, four or five are tougher to project but you can still spot challenges or trends. There are many moving parts such as fuel, road salt, water and insurance cost to name a few that will hit the bottom line.
The budget is probably the city council’s largest policy decision every year. Having a good finance team that can communicate with all the different disciplines that there are in local governance is a bonus. Just like in any successful organization, good financial management is one of the three indicators of success.
Now, back to the books…
Pete Auger, City Manager
City of Novi
Pete has been working in public service for the past twenty nine years including his service in the U.S. Army where he was a non-commissioned officer. Pete has sat on fourteen different boards, and has sat on or chaired many Michigan Local Government Management Association and Michigan Municipal League Committees. Pete served as MLGMA Board of Directors President in 2014.