Budget season is in the air for the Clifton Town Council, and during Tuesday night's meeting, the council approved a new format for preparing its spending plan for upcoming fiscal years.
Presented by finance committee chair and former council member Brant Baber, the nine-page document entitled "Recommendations on Developing Annual Budgets and Five Year Capital Improvement Plans" provided an outline for how budgets will be prepared starting with the spending plan for Fiscal Year 2008.
"In addition to the town budget, we also have developed a process here for establishing a five-year Capital spending plan," which would outline improvements to be made to the town as suggested by the various committees, Baber said.
The document, largely an outline and series of suggestions for how a budget and CIP could be prepared, was approved by the council with the expectation of being used in the formulation of the upcoming budget.
"It may take a while to get a running jump on developing the CIP," said Baber. "We've included a timeline for things to start hitting the ground in October for the following year."
Mayor Tom Peterson thanked Baber and members of the finance committee for their dedication to providing a formalized budget-writing system.
"Things were always done informally before," Peterson said. "It really needed to be formalized like this."
Council member Wayne Nickum suggested the council request committee spending requests for the 2008 budget by Monday, March 26, so a preliminary budget could be prepared in time for the April meeting.
"We might have to have a special meeting just to deal with the requests," Nickum said. "We also have to have a public hearing at least seven days before the vote, and the budget has to be approved by July 1."
PETERSON SAID he would send a copy of the document to all committee chairs and would meet with them in the next few weeks to discuss the budget procedure and their requests.
Other business discussed at the meeting included:
* Approving the purchase of two new Internet domain names, www.historicclifton.com and www.historiccliftonva.com, which may be used in addition or instead of the current town Web site.
* The council also discussed new ways of raising revenue outside the two pre-existing yearly fund raisers, the Haunted Trail and Holiday Homes Tour. Peterson suggested a handful of ideas, from a weekly bingo night or selling naming rights to a town structure to the possibility of a summer wine tour. He was asked to provide more information on what kind of volunteer and monetary contribution the town would have to supply prior to the event by the April meeting.
* Dominion Virginia Power will be presenting an update on what it plans to do to reduce the noise emitted from a pair of new transformers installed last year, said council member Pat Layden. The noise, described as a loud humming sound, has disrupted neighbors in the Clifton Creek area of the town for several months.
* A town-wide talent show, called the Coffee House Concert, will take place Saturday, March 24, from 7:30-9:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Clifton Presbyterian Church, said council member Chuck Rusnak. At least 10 performers have signed up already for the event, he said. Donations will be accepted at the door in lieu of an admission fee, and any net proceeds will be split between the town and the church, with the town's half to be allocated for the playground repair fund.
* A fire prevention meeting will take place Sunday, March 11, 5 p.m., in the community meeting hall, said traffic and safety committee chair Dwayne Nitz. A discussion about fire prevention for older homes is on the agenda, along with the importance of having an escape route and insurance coverage. Fire captain Ron Deskins will host the meeting, which should last about an hour.