elected officials guide to government finance · government finance officers association ... •...
TRANSCRIPT
Elected Officials Guide toGovernment Finance
Presenter, Mike BaileyFinance Director
City of Redmond, WA
In Partnership with the Government Finance Officers Association
of the United States and Canada
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www.gfoa.org
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Goals for the Session• Review “Planning and Budgeting” section of the Elected Officials Guide
• Strategic planning / Long‐term financial planning• Financial sustainability• Budget as a key policy tool
• Public involvement / transparent decision making• Revenues – policy and implications• Monitoring / financial reporting• Fund balances
• Performance Reporting
Strategic Plans• Take many forms
• Land use plans • “Comprehensive Plan” in Washington• “General Plan” in California
• Mission, Vision and Values• Broad Goals• Areas of Emphasis• Results or Outcomes based• And – Strategic Plans
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Value of Strategic Plan in Budget• Washington’s “Growth Management Act”
• Land use must be supported by needed services• Infrastructure plans should be in place
• To provide services at established service levels• Therefore, as you designate permissible land uses:
• Establish service level goals and thresholds• Use in capital budget planning
• Understand existing inventory and service levels• Be intentional about connecting investments to your plans
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Value of the Plan• Create a purpose and targets for the county• Align finances with purpose and targets• Have policy discussions and then provide policy guidance on priorities
• A standard to measure against• Are we spending our money on our priorities?• Can we tell? (do we know what our priorities are,can we see how spending aligns – or doesn’t)
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Value of the Plan• Can you see a connection betweenwhat you spend and your goals?
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Approaches to Create a Plan• Should represent the organization as a whole
• If not, should be clear about scope and authority
• Should be policy level • The “what”, not the “how”
• Not your normal, day‐to‐day business• Unique setting, facilitator, pre‐work, inclusive
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Examples
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County of Bath, VA
Examples
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Chester County, PA
Examples
12Clearview Township, ON
Examples
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Jackson County, Michigan
Examples
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Polk County Florida
Examples
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Chester County, PA
Examples
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Arapahoe County, Colorado
Examples
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Kent County, Michigan
Examples
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Sauk County, Wisconsin
Long‐term Financial Planning• Financial Policy basis
• On‐going resources pay for on‐going costs• Investments in capital plant / long‐term liabilities• Fund balance targets• Uses of fund balance
• Trend / forecast analysis• Can be effective at high level
• Greatest risk to success is too much detail
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Financial Sustainability• Difficult in most environments
• If you’re healthy now, just wait (economic cycles)
• Budget process forces decisions to balance• Resets for future sustainability• Decisions should be based on priorities
• Long‐term impact of current decisions• Model for it• Operating impacts of capital investments
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Examples
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www.redmond.gov/budget
Jackson County, Michigan
Budget as a Policy Document• Roles of your budget:
• Legal compliance• Policy (financial policies, goals, revenues)• Operations (staffing levels, departments, activities)• Financial (revenues, expenditures, fund balance)• Communications (told in a story – to you)
• Summarized in a budget message• The above topics make a great message outline
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GFOA Effective Budget Presentation
Encourage Citizen Participation• Required public hearings• Other opportunities:
• Surveys (formal / structure, surveymonkey)• Community meetings• Existing venues / forums• On‐line / social media approaches
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Examples