Town of Paradise Valley staff hosted the first of two community budget forums on March 18, where Town Manager Andrew Ching and Chief Financial Officer Leslie DeReche discussed the annual budgeting process and answered questions from members of the public.
The forum aimed to inform residents about how the town manages its finances and to provide transparency regarding the budgeting process. Community members had an opportunity to learn about municipal finance and ask questions directly to town officials.
Chief Financial Officer Leslie DeReche provided an overview of the types of information publicly available, explained where to find historical data and statistics, and detailed the process of fund accounting. DeReche also described how the town approaches its annual budget process, including statutory limitations such as expenditure limits and council guardrails on approval of the town budget and use of contingency funds.
Residents asked questions about how expenditure limitations are set, why there is no debt service budgeting in 2027, and sought explanations for prior and future capital projects. Additional topics included fund reserves, total number of full-time equivalent staff positions, and the history of permanent base adjustment elections.
The next community budget forum is scheduled for April. The town has made materials from this session available online, including a video recording, presentation slides, historical budget statistics, and study session materials regarding Arizona’s Expenditure Limitation Law. Residents are encouraged to contact the Finance Department with any further questions about the budget process.
