Budgetary Pitfalls - Revisited
As most of you are neck deep in your budget, we thought we would remind you about some budgetary pitfalls that we have experienced over...
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Eric Johnson
Aug 9, 20204 min read
The Perfect Fiscal Storm
My hometown is asking voters to approve a sales tax increase of 1.25% in November 2020. I know they need the money, but it is certainly a...
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Eric Johnson
Jul 12, 20152 min read
The Legacy of Fads
I started in local government when Planning, Programming, Budgeting (PPB) was introduced as a way to more effectively and efficiently use...
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Eric Johnson
Apr 12, 20152 min read
Budgetary Pitfalls
As most of you are neck deep in your budget, we thought we would share some budgetary pitfalls that we have experienced over the years....
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Eric Johnson
Mar 17, 20152 min read
Use EIFDs to Improve your Infrastructure
We have written much in the past about the need to identify and cost out your infrastructure, partly to insure that the adequate...
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Eric Johnson
Aug 18, 20144 min read
Yet Another Looming Financial Disaster
Last November I wrote the above titled topic about municipal asset replacement programs for the RCS monthly newsletter, and here is an...
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Eric Johnson
Apr 22, 20143 min read
No Reductions in Service
“There will not be any corresponding reduction in service.” I have a close friend that I met during our University Public Administration...
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Eric Johnson
Jun 17, 20133 min read
Contracting: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Given the renewed interest in contracting as a way to save money, it seems like a good time to review the experience of agencies that...
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Eric Johnson
May 21, 20134 min read
Surprises are Bad
Does your agency have a Revenue Book and someone assigned as Revenue Czar? The Revenue Czar is charged with knowing everything there is...
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Eric Johnson
Mar 19, 20133 min read
Don’t forget about your Infrastructure
A recent report by the California Statewide Needs Assessment Project, a coalition of local government groups, identified more than $82...
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Eric Johnson
May 17, 20122 min read
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...
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Eric Johnson
Apr 17, 20123 min read
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...
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Eric Johnson
Mar 19, 20124 min read
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...
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Eric Johnson
Jan 18, 20122 min read
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...
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Eric Johnson
Dec 6, 20114 min read
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...
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Eric Johnson
Oct 30, 20112 min read
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...
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Eric Johnson
Sep 22, 20112 min read
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...
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Eric Johnson
Jul 26, 20113 min read
The Costa Mesa Experiment
As you probably know, the City of Costa Mesa has pink-slipped nearly half of its employees. Considering that as of yet none of those...
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Eric Johnson
Jun 21, 20112 min read
Rethinking Animal Control
When our company started doing cost of services studies in the early 1980’s, it was routinely suggested that 50% of animal control costs...
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Eric Johnson
May 18, 20113 min read
To Outsource or not to Outsource
In these days of budget angst and woe you may be getting pressure from your elected officials or community to outsource services that are...
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