Paralysis in the budget-writing process in Washington recently left the federal government closed for 16 days and cost the nation at least $24 billion in forgone profit and lost revenue.
This paralysis was prompted, in no small part, by the unwillingness of lawmakers to compromise. Members of Congress held hard and fast to the proposals that they each felt their constituents wanted, and they were unwilling to allow concessions for their opponents, so they were unable to craft a budget that appealed to the plurality of legislators, resulting in a shutdown of the federal government.
The 2013 government shutdown highlighted some of the appalling consequences that can occur when those tasked with designing a budget are unwilling to give an inch on the proposals that their constituents desire. To ensure that your budget negotiations do not fail in the same manner, I have compiled resources from across the Knowledge Network that discuss ways to achieve the appropriate balance between representing your constituencies and forging ahead with a sensible, working budget.
- “Public Involvement in Budgeting: Options for Local Officials” discusses the merits of including citizens in the budget design process and outlines five methods of encouraging citizen participation in the process.
- “Citizen-Based Budgeting” describes and discusses the many benefits of the citizen-based method of local government budgeting.
- In response to the economic downturn that afflicted the country over the last few years, many managers needed to relearn how to respond to citizen concerns about the budget; they then shared their lessons with us.
- The responses to a 2010 question about interactive citizen-based budgeting offer some interesting ideas on ways to connect with citizens to talk about the budget.
- “A 'Budget Tour'? Absolutely!” highlights a creative approach to ensuring that budget committee members are informed and ready to work on the budget.
- “Participatory Budgeting Meets Priority Based Budgeting in Douglas County, NV” reveals a thoughtful approach to pairing community values with budget cuts in a given community.
If you have any other helpful advice on working with the citizens in your municipality to craft a working budget, please share your knowledge by replying to this blog post.
Aloha,
James Davidson
ICMA's Knowledge Network Intern
jdavidson@icma.org
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