Are We Doing This Right? – Budgeting Edition
This time on our ‘Are We Doing This Right?’ series, we take a look at the local budgeting process. Here’s what you can expect from this episode:
A quick rundown of common presumptions
An overview of the way budgeting processes work in most towns and cities
A discussion of the “seven deadly sins” of public finance (as told by friend of the show Liz Farmer),
Some of the most common criticisms of city budgeting processes and outcomes
A bit of perspective from AJ on what budgeting processes actually look like from inside a local government
A snapshot of some popular types of budgeting approaches that are out there (from line-item, to zero-based, to participatory, to outcome-based, and everything in between)
A list of best practices for creating a truly accessible budgeting process, plus examples of cities that have taken big steps in this direction
A final discussion about budgets as exercises in making choices
And, of course, we answer the titular question—are we doing this right?
Here are some great resources if you’d like to do go further:
The 7 Deadly Sins of Public Finance (Governing)
Participatory Budgeting: Core Principles and Key Impacts (Boise State University ScholarWorks)
City of Vallejo Launches Third Cycle of Participatory Budgeting (Institute for Local Government)
Performance Based Budgeting Fact Sheet (National Conference of State Legislatures)
What Is Performance-Based Budgeting? (Johns Hopkins University Center for Government Excellence)
Municipal Budgeting Systems: Fad Management Tools or Strategic Methods of Innovation? (Fels Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania)
What Other Cities Can Learn from Baltimore's Outcome-Based Budgeting (Governing)
Credit downgrades, budget shortfalls, & federal relief — with Liz Farmer (Go Cultivate! podcast)
Ten Biggest Challenges of Local Government Budgeting (National Research Center)
How the Coronavirus Will Harm State and City Budgets (Council on Foreign Relations)
Making Sense of Municipal Budgets (CitiesSpeak)
City budgets in an era of increased uncertainty (Brookings)
The Local Government Annual Budget Process (International City/County Management Association)
Public Budgets (National League of Cities)
Mayor's Plan for Zero-Based Budgeting (Urban Reform)
Budget Formats (Oxford University Press)
The Ins and Outs of Your City Budget (Bloomberg Citylab)
Interactive/visual budget examples: Philadelphia, Oakland, Arlington (MA)
Want to discuss this further?
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