It was a big week. Like a competitive distance runner striding the final stretch of race, the end of Wake’s FY19 budget adoption was full of grit, determination, and even a little exhaustion. I’ve only been here for about a month as of this posting, and extrapolating the mountain moving that I have witnessed (and had a small hand in) over the past 4 weeks to the entire budget schedule is gasp-inducing. Real work happens here every single day, and that can get lost in weeds-y chatter about specifics. Much of the public discussion revolved around about 2% of the County Manager’s Recommended budget. TWO PERCENT. I think that it matters that the other 98% was received with open arms. Commissioner Calabria said it best during the meeting: “There is something here for everyone.”
Given the magnitude of the adoption on June 4th, I fully expected an office fiesta on June 5th. I’m talking food, streamers from the ceiling and music at a volume appropriate for a workplace; what we got was none of the above and a somewhat anticlimactic new day in office. This is where the “distance runner sprinting to the finish” analogy breaks down. Our finish line was the adoption of the FY19 Budget by the Board of Commissioner, until it wasn’t anymore. Instead of spending the next day rejoicing with our arm stretched over our respective heads, we started another race, complete with a new finish line.