Take it easy - It is easy to get caught up in the weeds when looking at the mountains of information provided. Some of your fellow RTM members have been known to create year-over-year spreadsheets to compare budgets over more time than is provided to you. Review what you can and focus on what you can.
Other people have reviewed it before the RTM gets it - Remember that by the time the RTM sees the budgets they have been discussed for many, many weeks and approved by various boards. While it is unlikely that the RTM will discover a big “gotcha” find that no one else has been wise enough to notice, it is still worth the RTM review.
Comparison between our town and others in the area - While this seems like a good thought, it is difficult to do because budgets aren’t always done the same way. Example: Our IT costs are spread in multiple departments, so the total cost of IT is difficult to determine and compare. Some school districts pay their own snowplow expense; ours is included in the Public Works budget. Our budget categories may not match those of other towns.
Detail, detail, detail – does it match the story - Each department’s budget will include details about headcount, salary, contracted services and projects to be undertaken in the upcoming year. Again, individual projects by the department should be in line with the direction the town is heading long term. For example, because so much of what occurs in the town and schools is electronic, it generally would not make sense to make a big expenditure on a fleet of copiers unless there is a valid reason (perhaps making copies of budget books). Conversely, if the IT department asked for additional funding for expanded cloud storage or devices to record town meetings, that would be very valid.
A very detailed explanation of all the expense objects is attached for the funding request.
