Homer mayor proposes changing the rules for how the city writes its budget

Homer Mayor Rachel Lord has proposed changing the part of city code that sets how Homer writes its budget, and the City Council is scheduled to introduce the ordinance Monday, Oct. 26.

The council's tentative agenda lists the ordinance by title only, so what it would change isn't public yet. A public hearing and possible adoption are recommended for Nov. 9.

The chapter it would amend requires the city manager to present budget assumptions by the third Friday in September and "a budget proposal for the next fiscal year" by the third Friday in October.

Homer switched to two-year budgets under that chapter, adopting a short January-to-June budget for 2021 to make the change. The next budget will cover fiscal years 2028 and 2029.

Council members will discuss the ordinance at a work session and a Committee of the Whole meeting before the regular meeting, and the public can comment at each.