CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the establishment of a Fiscal Transparency Program; requiring periodic and consistent reporting and monitoring of City budgetary, financial, and fiscal policy information to the City Council and the public; adding a new Chapter 3.140 to, and amending Sections 3.14.100 and 5.08.020 of, the Seattle Municipal Code; and requesting that the Code Reviser recodify Chapter 5.08 of the Seattle Municipal Code in Subchapter I of Chapter 3.14.
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WHEREAS, a review of state fiscal note practices by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities finds that preparing fiscal notes for all legislation, projecting long term fiscal impacts of proposed legislation, revising the estimates as needed, and posting fiscal notes online are best practices in the preparation and presentation of fiscal estimates for proposed legislation; and
WHEREAS, the Government Finance Officers Association recommends that "all governments establish a formal set of processes for comparing budget to actual results to monitor financial performance. Budget monitoring should include analysis of a diverse set of indicators to best inform the analysis and facilitate evaluation of a government's overall performance. Establishing and conducting regular budget monitoring provides organizations the opportunity to promptly adjust for any significant variances to ensure continuity of program/service delivery"; and
WHEREAS, the City has a fiscal note practice that describes current-year fiscal impacts that is periodically updated to incorporate new information such as about capital, climate, and race and social justice impacts, to meet the needs of the City and its policy makers; and
WHEREAS, the City Budget Office (CBO) launched a new fiscal monitoring program in 2023 that engages City departments, including staff from the Office of City Finance and CBO in consistent analysis about budget-to-actual spending; an...
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