Learning process; New city commissioner making her way through budget.

Taking her first crack at the city's budget planning process, Fort Scott's newest City Commissioner Cindy Bartelsmeyer is focused on learning.

Bartelsmeyer began her studies back in March, one month prior to the April election, when Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin and Assistant City Manager Susan Brown hosted a meeting with the candidates regarding the budget. During that gathering, Bartelsmeyer, along with other city commission hopefuls, was presented with a copy of the city's 2011 budget to get a feel for what it would look like.

"I read the budget booklet ... and found the book to be very informative," Bartelsmeyer said. "I'm sure I still have many things to learn."

Working as the Associate Dean of Grants and Institutional Advancement for Fort Scott Community College, Bartelsmeyer said she has some experience working with budgets, however, she knows the city's finances are a little different than the departmental budgets that she is used to handling.

"I do understand budgets a little bit and I'm just looking forward to being a part of the process," she said. "For me, it's just going to be a new overall view of budgeting that I probably have not been exposed to before."

While reading though the city's 2011 budget, Bartelsmeyer said she had to get used to unfamiliar terminology. She admitted she had to consult a dictionary a few times.

"Once I familiarized myself with the vocabulary specific to the budget, I thought, 'Oh yeah, I know what that is. I just didn't know what they called it,'" she said.

And the knowledge has kept on coming for the new commissioner who said she is looking forward to learning about he different types of funds, how they work and how they are all kept separate. Having had experience dealing with grants, Bartelsmeyer said she is knows the budget must be developed following a certain set of guidelines and that not all incoming money goes into the same fund.

"I don't go in there with expectations that we can move money around however we want to," she said. "There are guidelines that you have to follow."

Bartelsmeyer said she is not expecting any major surprises during the planning process, adding that she feels Martin and Brown have been open about how the city's money is being spent. She said she does not anticipate any major cuts at this time, but will learn more once she gets into the planning process.

"It doesn't seem like David and Susan pull any surprises," she said.

With the city hosting its first budget work session on utility funds Thursday evening, Bartelsmeyer said that she is not coming into the process with any specific goal. She just wants to learn.

"I think the first year, I'm just learning and I had not really thought about that as far as going in there with any specific goals," she said.