Palmer asks residents for budget priorities

PALMER — What kind of things do you think city government should build in town? The city council really wants to know.

The city of Palmer is embarking on a slightly different process this year from years past to figure out what projects to seek funding for. Instead of waiting until the end to ask for the public’s input, Palmer will solicit ideas from its residents at the start of the process and then again at the end.

In between, city staff and elected officials will weigh in.

“Us bureaucrats will have our say in the process, seeing whether something makes sense or is doable,” City Manager Doug Griffin said. “We start with sort of a brainstorming process and then reality sets in, unfortunately, and like I say, us bureaucrats get a shot at it.”

Anyone with a good idea can pick up a project nomination form at city hall or the city’s website, cityofpalmer.org. The form is three pages long.

Griffin said project ideas would likely be presented to grant-giving bodies and the state Legislature. The city isn’t really in the capital project game unless it’s using money from another source.

“Unless the voters approve a bond issue, we have very little cash to put toward significant capital improvements,” he said.

But in those grant-application and capital-request situations, the city is often asked to prove that there is public interest in the project under consideration.

“They want to have some assurance that it’s not just the city manager and the mayor’s idea to do something,” Griffin said. “They want to make sure whatever bacon they’re bringing home to the district has got some support for it.”

Nominations are due by March 30. Griffin said the city will likely hold a public meeting for purposes of brainstorming in April or May.

He said that the council decided to take this approach under his predecessor, Bill Allen.

“Even some of the council members that went for it thought maybe it was too much process, but I said I thought it was workable,” Griffin said.

The final list of projects doesn’t come out for six months — around December — and won’t have taken shape, really, until six months from now. Griffin said he’ll be interested to see what comes out of it.

“Maybe someone will come up with a doable thing,” he said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.