What can Police Officers teach Firefighters?
In October of 2009, I wrote an article about what Firefighters could teach Police Officers. Thanks to an article in the Los Angeles Times on May 14, 2012, it’s time to look in the other direction. The subtitle of the article is “Patients who summon paramedics for rides to clinics or to refill prescriptions are [...]
Budgeting for Outcomes
There has been much talk lately in budgeting circles about Budgeting for Outcomes. In short, this means making an effort to determine an organization’s priorities and budgeting towards those priorities. I think most everyone would agree this is a great idea. But then, why do so few organizations do it? Ultimately it comes down to [...]
Thinking out of the Budget Box
I’m at heart a “budget” guy. In the four cities I worked in as an employee (full disclosure, it was over 25 years ago) I was always heavily involved in the budget process. The process of planning and determining how to commit the agency’s limited (and getting more limited all the time) resources always held [...]
The Inadequacy of One
Will I calculate service costs based on a single unit of service? Yes, but I don’t like to. It’s often hard to make the case for including the estimated units of service in a “Fee Study” (Study) as it increases our costs and the customer is trying to obtain a Study at the lowest possible [...]
The more things change the more they stay the same
We are living in a time of change. Redevelopment Agencies in their current form have disappeared. No one knows what the State budget will look like until the voters weigh in on temporary tax increases in the fall. Everyone is still trying to figure out what their new normal is for Sales and Property taxes. [...]
We’re All In This Together
Let’s jump into the “wayback machine” and travel back to 1975 when I was a 23 year old Administrative Analyst (i.e. “punk”) with a fresh new BPA working at my first government job, a well established city in the eastern San Gabriel Valley. With my C.E.T.A. tattoo firmly imprinted on my forehead and my “Whip [...]
Systemic Problems with Labor Negotiations
Many years ago, I audited a city in the San Gabriel Valley area of greater Los Angeles that was especially well-managed. One of the features that made this city exceptional was the process they used for labor negotiations. Before telling you what they did, I would like to summarize what many cities are currently doing. [...]
It’s time to think about updating your Cost Allocation Plan
If you use a Cost Allocation Plan (CAP) to recover General Fund costs from your Enterprise Funds, then it’s time to start thinking about updating that CAP for the 2012-13 budget year. If you do it during the relatively calm period after the auditors leave and before the budget process starts, then you will be [...]
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