Budget Committee

Cities in Oregon are required by law to create a budget each year and maintain a budget committee. Happy Valley’s Budget Committee consists of five citizen volunteers and the five members of City Council.  The term of office for the committee is three years and members can serve no more than two terms, or six years total.

Budget committee members meet each year in April to look at the budget and actual expenses from the previous year. The City Manager, who is also the Budget Officer, along with the Finance Department present the committee with a proposed budget for the upcoming year. The committee’s responsibilities include reviewing the proposed budget, verifying it complies with Oregon budget laws, allowing for public testimony, and approving the budget and tax levies.

This can be a daunting task, which is why in Happy Valley we incorporate a “Budget Buddy” system. Each Budget Buddy team consists of the City Manager, the Finance Director, one department manager, one City Council member and one citizen budget committee member.  These teams meet and review the details behind each department’s budgetary needs.

The Budget Committee meets in May to review the budget as a group. At that meeting, they vote to approve the budget as is or with agreed upon changes. They also allow for public comment during the meeting and vote to approve the amount of the tax levy.  The budget is then sent to City Council where they vote to adopt the budget.  The Council next holds a public hearing to allow members of the public to comment on the budget as well. The budget must be adopted, and amounts appropriated by June 30 to legally expend funds in the upcoming fiscal year.

A City’s annual budget is a public record. At any time, a resident can review the City’s adopted annual budget to determine how money is scheduled to be allocated for the year.