This is start of the formal budget process. This process will proceed through the end of the year, when the City will adopt a final budget. The 2001 Budget for the City of Wabasha is a tool with many different uses. On the most basic level, the purpose of this particular tool is to help the City Council and Staff plan for expected revenues and expenditures for the upcoming year. At a more in-depth level, the budget is a tool for analyzing trends in those revenues and expenditures.
Future spending is projected by analyzing past spending trends and current needs.
A well prepared budget helps in analyzing those trends and identifying those needs. However, the budget is not just a plan on how much money is received and how much money is dispersed. It is a statement of public policy. In setting levels for revenues and expenditures, a value decision must be made. Staff can make projections on the approximate cost to provide certain services, but in the end, the Council must decide how much each particular service is worth to the community.