Council member Ayers seeks formal fiscal-impact statements for ordinances

Council member Nicole Ayers presented a draft ordinance Jan. 20 proposing that proposed city ordinances include a fiscal‑impact statement that summarizes expected costs, staffing needs and other budgetary effects.

Ayers said the goal is transparency and better planning: "Many times... when we asked what the financial implications were, no one could really tell us," she said, adding that a fiscal note would help elected officials and departments prepare and plan for implementation costs.

President Josh Goldstein and other members described the draft as a formalization of a practice sometimes followed informally. Goldstein called it a "fiscal note" and said departments already produce budget estimates in some cases; staff agreed to circulate Ayers' language and to work with council members to refine the ordinance.

The committee asked that staff and the author collaborate on tightening legal language and determining how departments would produce the estimates; staff will forward the draft and follow up before the next ordinance committee meeting.