This month the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) clarified policy to ensure that local governments are specifically recognized as key partners in EM’s annual budget development at every EM site.
Specific recommendations for engaging local governments are highlighted in “Guidance on the Dissemination of Budget Information to External Stakeholders for the Office of Environmental Management’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request,” (“Guidance”) a memorandum signed by Senior Advisor William “Ike” White and distributed earlier this month. EM updated the Guidance to ensure that every site includes local governments in the EM budget development
decisions.
Mayor Brent Gerry, ECA Chair, stated, “EM’s clarification of the Guidance is appreciated by local governments that work with EM. The Guidance ensures that affected local communities have input, on an annual basis, into the EM budget priorities, which drives cleanup and strengthens the working relationship between the EM site managers and communities affected by the cleanup.”
The Guidance also included an attachment listing the local jurisdictions EM should contact for engagement. The new section in the Guidance states the following:
“Officials from the affected units of local government at each site should be engaged at early stages of the budget development process to create a budget that meets cleanup needs. Local governments for each EM site may be found in Appendix A.
Field sites should brief local governments during the following budget stages: (i) following the release of budget requests, (ii) following the receipt of an appropriation, and (iii) during the budget development process. Note that DOE budget presentations given to SSABs or local Citizen Advisory Boards do not substitute for direct engagement with local governments.
To strengthen local government engagement for the FY 2024 budget and beyond, the following activities are recommended:
- Field sites should meet annually in spring/early summer with local governments to discuss budget and priorities planning. This timeframe would allow DOE to (i) provide an update on how the current FY budget is being spent, (ii) discuss the outlook for the FY beginning in October, and (iii) gain local government insight that may potentially influence DOE’s request to OMB for the following FY.
- Field sites should provide read-ahead materials including priority projects that would be funded each FY. Materials could also include information on longer term projects that are still several years away, but that remain relevant for local governments.
- Field sites, where applicable, should include budget process discussion in monthly meetings between site managers and city managers. Alternatively, field sites could host a monthly meeting about budget and priorities planning with local governments."
ECA recently held an informational webinar on the budget process; presentations from this event are available on the ECA webpage.
