Amend 2020-2021 Budget due to COVID - YES

As COVID upended our lives, Corte Madera took the greatest financial hit in its history. We scrambled to change the projections in our budget, attempting to keep pace and accurately predict what the impacts would be on our Town so we could plan accordingly. The major changes recommended by our Finance Director were to reduce revenue by more than $2 million (due largely to the closing of local businesses) and to increase expenses by hundreds of thousands of dollars due to unforeseen costs related to keeping the community safe.

This was a painful vote to take, but one required by the principles of fiscal responsibility. It was important that we plan conservatively for a worst-case scenario and go into the crisis with our eyes wide open. That approach paid off, as our cautious approach made us the only town in Marin that was able to balance its budget during the pandemic. That's a distinction that every Corte Maderan should be proud of.