On behalf of the City of Forest Grove, our City Council and our employees, I wanted to take a moment to express our deep gratitude... more
City Hall
Budget Changes Open Hours For City Offices
The City of Forest Grove begins a new fiscal year as of July 1, 2011. The City Manager, who is also the City’s Budget Officer, submitted a balanced budget to the Budget Committee for review and the budget was approved by the City Council.
The budget for FY 2011-12 continues to fine tune operations in order to live within existing resources. The budget doesn’t include the addition of any new positions in any department. However, there are limited staff reductions and staff reassignments in the administrative departments of the General Fund that have enabled the City to balance the budget while trying to maintain all critical services. Demands for services are increasing and the current staff is working hard to meet those demands. In order to help staff provide excellent service, City Hall and the Engineering offices, and the phones service, will not open to the public until 9:00 a.m. Staff still report at 8:00 a.m. using this one hour per day of uninterrupted work time to complete necessary functions more efficiently, allow time for staff training, and allow staff to absorb additional duties from staff reassignments. Customer service to the public is important to the City, and we believe this change will enable staff to continue to be responsive to the public.
NEW HOURS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:
City Hall and Engineering Offices
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday
Effective August 1, 2011
The FY 2011-12 budget aims to meet the priority needs of the Community, while living within existing resources. City staff and the Budget Committee have been reviewing the long-term budget forecasts and what the City can do to prepare for the budgetary deficits projected to face the City in the future. Maintaining the current level of services without additional sources of revenue will become increasingly difficult. One key to maintaining future services is the renewal of the City’s Local Option Levy which expires on June 30, 2013. Renewal of the levy at the current rate will not reduce projected budget deficits but it will keep the deficits from getting significantly larger.
The FY 2011-12 Budget is available on the City’s website on the Finance Department’s page under City Hall. Questions regarding the budget or services may be directed to the City Manager’s Office at 503.992.3234.