In times of economic crisis, traditional responses, such as “across-the-board” cuts, pay freezes, furloughs, tax increases, or selling assets, may have a negative impact on the fiscal wellbeing of a community in the long term. In a recent webinar, ICMA’s Center for Management Strategies explored this topic with Jon Johnson and Chris Fabian, co-founders of the Center for Priority Based Budgeting.

Johnson and Fabian explained the financial issues that many communities face in terms of a person’s health. When a person presents with symptoms, a good physician asks questions to determine the cause of the ailment. The same is true for determining whether or not a community is financially sound.

Participants learned basics of “Fiscal Health,” a unique, preventative, diagnostic analysis that uncovers the root cause of an organization’s fiscal “ailments” and unveils potentially unhealthy practices that can be easily corrected before the organization’s fiscal position is compromised. 

Especially for smaller communities, it can be challenging to know the right questions to ask and the best way to demonstrate and prove to elected officials that a jurisdiction is financially healthy. Johnson and Fabian shared a series of basic diagnostic questions that helped participants gain a better assessment of not only the positive signs of its fiscal health but how to potentially isolate the root causes of the fiscal disease that can impact long-term financial sustainability. They also demonstrated the online diagnostic tool that helps communities diagnose and treat fiscal health concerns.

This webinar, the second of a “leading practices” series by the ICMA’s Center for Management Strategies, is available on demand.