Mayor presents proposed 2019-20 budget to City Council on Sept. 25

Mayor Dana Ralph presents her proposed 2019-20 budget to the Kent City Council at a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, in the council chambers at City Hall, 220 Fourth Ave. S.

The meeting is open to the public and will be televised live on Kent TV21.

The schedule for the budget process is as follows:

• Tuesday, Sept. 25, 5 p.m.: Mayor’s presentation of the budget proposal to Kent City Council, followed by a special council workshop

• Saturday, Oct. 6, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.: All-day special council workshop

• Tuesday, Oct. 9, 5 p.m.: Special council workshop, if needed

• Tuesday, Oct. 16, 5 p.m.: Council workshop on the budget, if needed, followed by a regularly-scheduled council meeting

• Tuesday, Nov. 6, 4 p.m.: Operations Committee will consider a recommendation that council adopt the budget at its next meeting, Nov. 20, followed by a City Council meeting at 5 p.m. (Note: The City Council meeting is scheduled earlier than usual because of Election Day.)

• Tuesday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m.: If the Operations Committee submits the finalized budget to City Council, it will be discussed and voted on at this meeting.

All meetings are in the council chambers.

“This is my first budget process as mayor, and I am encouraged by the communication between City Council and myself throughout the process,” Ralph said. “I appreciate the council’s willingness to discuss many important budget issues prior to this evening. Because of that collaboration, I am presenting a budget that reflects our collective commitment to providing valuable city services to our residents in a cost-effective, fiscally-responsible manner and that supports our strategic planning and respects the input of our residents and businesses.”

For more information about the city budget process, or to sign-up to receive budget updates, visit KentWA.gov/Government/Budget-FAQs.