RESULTS of COMMUNITY SURVEY on BUDGET PRIORITIES August 28, 2010 - In developing the 2011 City Budget, the City Council and City staff recognized that certain difficult financial decisions would need to be made in order to create a balanced budget without requiring any tax increases. It was decided that public input was critical to guide the City in this challenging process, in order to better understand community priorities. Several methods were initiated to solicit this public input; these included conducting a town meeting on the budget and City Council members attending the Farmers' Market on several Saturdays to solicit feedback on the budget.
The primary tool selected for soliciting input from the public was the use of a city-wide citizen survey. This survey was developed by the Finance Department staff, with input from the City Council, City Manager, and Department Heads. It was sent to all utility customers with their monthly utility bills. In addition, citizens were given the option of completing the survey on-line, and obtaining additional survey forms which were available at the front desk at City Hall and at several other venues such as the Farmers' Market.
City Council will be discussing the results at their Special Council Meeting on Tuesday, August 31 at 6:00 p.m. in City Council Chambers.
Results of the survey are available below. Please note: Individual citizen comments were reproduced as submitted including grammar and spelling.
Results of Community Survey on Budget Priorities
Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat reader installed to view this file.
A total of over 1400 survey forms were completed, which represents about 15% of the total households in Port Angeles . This included 998 responses from the utility bill insert, 382 responses on-line, and 82 responses to the printed survey forms. This is an excellent response rate and confirms the high level of interest that local citizens have in their city government. With this high level of response, the priorities that have been identified will be very useful to the City Council and City staff in the development of the 2011 Budget.
The City appreciates this interest from its citizens and for the care and concern expressed for the future of our community.
As always - for complete information about the City's Budget visit this webpage or call 360-417-4600 or email finance@cityofpa.us
YOUR INPUT IS ESSENTIAL
Your input throughout the entire budget process is essential, as the City strives to maintain a strong financial position while providing a sustainable level of services and still meeting the needs of the community. Public Hearings on the 2011 budget will be coming up in November and December.
PRIORITY BUDGETING FOR THE "NEW NORMAL" June 29, 2010 - City Manager Myers and Finance Director Ziomkowski
made a presentation to City Council regarding the process for budgeting for priorities.
The presentation covered the steps necessary for success, the implementation plan, determination and measurement of results and how to identify and score City programs and services.
PRIORITY BUDGETING FOR THE "NEW NORMAL"
Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat reader installed to view this file.
Budgeting for priorities gives citizens the opportunity to provide input while instilling confidence and trust that community needs will be met while maintaining a strong financial position. For more information, contact the Finance Department at either 360-417-4600 or finance@cityofpa.us
Welcome...the goal of the Finance Department is to manage and optimize the City's financial affairs and provide professional, knowledgeable, and courteous service to city employees and customers.
Along with general accounting and budgeting services, the Finance Department is also responsible for customer service, centralized switchboard, reprographics, the city web site and coordinating and supporting the entire information networking and computer services used by city departments.
Information at your fingertips. Now you can access Annual and Audit reports, Budget Information, and learn more about how the City manages its financial resources.
Contact Us!
Please feel free to contact the Finance Department with your questions and comments at either 360-417-4600 or finance@cityofpa.us
CITY RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED BUDGET PRESENTATION AWARD June 28, 2010 - The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has announced that the City of Port Angeles has received the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.
Click image at right to view as PDF File. Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat reader installed to view this file.
The award reflects the commitment of the City of Port Angeles to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting. The City had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation and the guidelines that assess how well an entity's budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device. Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award. The City exceeded these expectations in the majority of the categories.
“I am very proud of this award and our accomplishments. It represents the City's and the Finance Department's hard work and high standards of excellence along with our strong commitment to provide an outstanding budget document for the citizens of Port Angeles,” stated Yvonne Ziomkowski, Finance Director.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving over 17,600 government finance professionals throughout North America . The GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.
Get it First - Sign Up Today to Receive City News via Email Interested in receiving City of Port Angeles News Releases via email? All you have to do is send an email to webmaster@cityofpa.us to be included.
City News Releases feature information and updates from all City Departments regarding events, special meetings, programs, services, projects, and other announcements.
Give it a try and sign up today! And then get ready to "Read....or should we say....Email All About It".
~ In Partnership With the Community ~
CITY ANNOUNCES IMPROVED BOND RATINGS Posted May 3, 2010 at 11:40 a.m. -The City of Port Angeles has received notice of revised debt ratings from Moody's Investors Service. The City's already outstanding rating of A2 on its general obligation debt has been raised to Aa3, a two-step rating increase. In addition, both the City's water and sewer debt, and electric revenue debt received two step increases from A3 to A1.
“We fully expect these rating increases to make our bonds more attractive to a broader range of investors,” stated Yvonne Ziomkowski, the City's Finance Director, “and creating demand for our bonds typically results in a lower cost of capital.” City Manager Kent Myers added, “Although we had anticipated an improved rating and this is a very positive indicator of the City's overall financial position.”
The City's next bond issue is scheduled for later this summer. “We look forward to having our citizens invest in their City by buying its bonds,” Finance Director Ziomkowski.
Moody's Investor Service has recently recalibrated its municipal scale ratings to a global scale across the Moody's-rated universe, reflecting the comparability among both corporate and municipal securities.
For more information, contact Yvonne Ziomkowski, Finance Director at 360-417-4600 orfinance@cityofpa.us
2010 FINAL BUDGET February 24, 2010 - The 2010 Final Budget is now available for review. The Budget is an economic plan that focuses the entity's financial and human resources on the accomplishment of specific goals and objectives established by the policy makers.
The Budget establishes the annual expenditure levels for all departments and funds. These expenditure levels are called appropriations, and they represent spending limits.
With the direction provided by Council goals, the dedication of our employees, and the support of our citizens, the City of Port Angeles will provide the highest level of municipal services within available resources. When finalized, this budget becomes the community's strongest means of achieving desired goals.......
CITY BUDGET / MONTHLY FINANCIAL UPDATE It is the policy of the City of Port Angeles to maintain a level of expenditures that enhances the safety and well-being of residents in our community. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid preparing a budget that is balanced at the expense of future budgets.
City Council prioritized critical services for basic services such as utilities, fire and police protection, street maintenance, and community development.
This newsletter gives a monthly financial update ....
New! Now Available for City Residents You can now pay or check your utility usage on line! This new feature allows you to view billing history, payment activity, and service and consumption summaries as well as pay your bill. Save a monthly trip to city hall or the cost of postage. It's quick, easy and secure....give it a try!
To Utility Information Center
City Web Site The City of Port Angeles hosts its own web site. We believe this is the best way to keep the information as complete and up-to-date as possible and it also allows residents to quick, easy and secure access to online utility account information.
The goal of this web site is to provide online access to utility account information, specific information about the services provided by your city government, general information about the City of Port Angeles and quick and easy ways to contact city staff for more assistance if ever necessary.
We invite you to visit the web site regularly. Watch for continuous updates and new features as we strive to make each visit an informative and pleasant experience for you.
If you have any questions, suggestions or comments about this web site please email: webmaster@cityofpa.us.
Along with general accounting and budgeting services,
Interested in receiving City of Port Angeles News Releases via email? All you have to do is send an email to 
New! Now Available for City Residents
If you have any questions, suggestions or comments about this web site please email: