Authors Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian explain in the September 2012 PM cover story “Seeing Things Differently” that priority-based budgeting is a collaborative process for examining and establishing local government priorities. They write about critical discussions and rich conversations to identify goals and reach a “return on results,” where each dollar is evaluated in terms of its influence on the community.

They conclude their article by advising that the new lens of priority-based budgeting makes it possible to:

• See how to align scarce resources with the highest priorities of our communities.
• See the most appropriate service provider for the programs we offer.
• See what services residents are willing to pay for.
• See public and private-sector partnerships ripe for leveraging.
• Ultimately see a new way of determining which  services our local government is best suited to provide—services that have the greatest impact for the resources within the community’s means.

For complete priority-based budgeting details and evaluation criterion, read the September PM.