Schedule 2026-2027 Budget Review Workshops

Special workshops are public meetings subject to the Open Meetings Law (Public Officers Law Article 7, §103 et seq.), which requires that notice be given to the public and to the news media prior to the meeting. Village Law §4-402 also governs the calling and notice of special meetings. The resolution schedules the workshops but does not recite how or when notice will be provided. Trustees and counsel may wish to confirm that notice procedures — including posting and media notification — comply with OML requirements before March 12, 2026.

Village Law §5-508 requires the village clerk to present the tentative budget to the board at a regular or special meeting on or before March 31, and a public hearing on the tentative budget must be held on or before April 15 (with at least five days' notice between first publication and the hearing date). Scheduling review workshops on March 12 and March 22 is consistent with these deadlines, but trustees may wish to confirm that the tentative budget will be ready for presentation by March 31 and that the public hearing and May 1 adoption deadline remain on track. Any slippage in the workshop schedule could compress the mandatory statutory calendar.

OSC's Local Government Management Guide on the budget process emphasizes that the governing board has 'the authority and responsibility to adopt realistic, structurally balanced budgets and to monitor the budget continually,' and that sound budget preparation requires use of 'all of the most current and accurate information available.' Holding two workshops is consistent with this guidance, but OSC best practice suggests that supporting materials — prior-year actuals, current-year projections, department-head submissions — should be distributed to trustees before workshops to enable meaningful deliberation. The resolution is silent on whether pre-workshop materials will be circulated.

The motion was moved by Kjarval, seconded by Smith, and passed unanimously — satisfying basic procedural requirements under Village Law §4-414 and Robert's Rules. However, for a scheduling resolution that sets the framework for the entire budget review process, a brief record of the intended scope (e.g., which fund budgets will be reviewed, whether department heads will present) could strengthen the deliberative record and help trustees, staff, and the public prepare. This is a documentation best-practice note rather than a validity concern.