Andrew Kleine is the author of "City On the Line" and is working tirelessly toward a future in which municipal budgeting produces the results that leaders are looking for. Shayne Kavanagh, the Senior Manager of Research for the Government Finance Officers Association, has spent his career looking at how government policy interacts with the fiscal health of the places in which he works.

To some municipal budgeting is a black box, but today's conversation aims to make this sometimes confusing topic a little more transparent. Can the budgeting process be communicated to the public in a way that actually helps them understand and be a part of the process? The answer is yes. Kevin, Shayne, and Andrew look seriously at how we can we take a data-first approach to planning for the future and come up with ways that our budget actually produces meaningful results in our communities?

Audio Note: There is a little static on Kevin’s audio about midway through the interview.

Lots of great content to check out after you listen to this episode:

https://www.gfoa.org/rethinking-budgeting
https://bloombergcities.jhu.edu/category/budgeting-equity

Some books worth checking out:

City on the Line by Andrew Kleine
Trying Hard is Not Good Enough by Mark Friedman
The Price of Government by David Osborne and Peter Hutchinson
The Art of Explanation by Lee LeFever
Data Story by Nancy Duarte
Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam

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