Supervisors First, "Citizens" Second in Albemarle Priority-Setting

Hold your breath, Albemarle.

The Administration of Albemarle County is on a fast track to lead the Board of Supervisors forward on what Staff are calling a “Priority Driven Budgeting” process for a “Next Generation Government” alternatively known as “Albemarle 2020.”

All this new bureaucratic nomenclature was unveiled Wednesday, May 11, 2016 during an afternoon presentation entitled “Strategic Priorities/Two Year Fiscal Plan Development Process.” This Power Point presentation was led by Assistant County Executive Lee Catlin and Director of Management and Budget Lori Allshouse.

While I applaud long-range planning and budgeting, I disapprove of County Executive Tom Foley’s Staff’s decision: (a) to require that the six elected Supervisors be the first to set Albemarle’s priorities and (b) that this be done before the end of this month. In fact, Catlin told the six Democrats that “clear and well-defined priorities” are needed by the end of the day on Tuesday, May 17, 2016.

So, guess who comes in second here: the public, of course.

By the way, Catlin and Allshouse refer to the public as “Citizens.” Are they all? I wonder. "Residents" would seem more accurate.

Anyway, that digression aside, wouldn’t it be nice if our six ELECTED County officials would put the voting and taxpaying public first with this? When it comes to input on Albemarle’s future priorities, who needs or wants a mandate from Staff?

Additionally, Foley and his Staff want the Board members’ priorities awfully fast — in six days. This leaves precious little time to reach out to constituents (if Board members actually want to do so) to put all this new strategizing and prioritizing into the right order — with the community first rather than the Board and County Staff.

This so-called new “Next Generation Government” is sounding grossly similar to what’s already been occurring in Albemarle. What’s different? What’s “new” or “next” here?

Remember all the recent Community Engagement meetings (Tax Increase Town Halls, I labeled them) during the just completed 2017 budget season? With those, the six Supervisors took their marching orders from Mr. Foley. The BOS was told — and, incredibly, they obeyed Tom — not to engage with the public at public engagement sessions. In this new “Albemarle 2020” program, community priorities are said to be key, but those from Board members are to be identified first, say Staff. In the timeline presented by Staff, any Citizen/Resident feedback is scheduled second in June and July.

Let me point out one more interesting concept in Albemarle’s allegedly new and better “Priority Driven Budgeting” scheme. There was not one mention during this entire presentation or ensuing discussion about zero-based budgeting — building a new one- or two-year budget from scratch rather than from the existing $375 million baseline already in place. Wouldn’t that be a novel idea? Start at zero and see what’s really needed or justified rather than what's wanted.

Maybe that’s next in the Albemarle County Administration’s next “Next Generation Government.”

Feel free to discontinue breath-holding now.