Budgeting

Jul 12, 2015
2 min

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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Apr 12, 2015
2 min

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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Mar 17, 2015
2 min

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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Aug 18, 2014
4 min

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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Apr 22, 2014
3 min

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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Jun 17, 2013
3 min

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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May 21, 2013
4 min

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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Mar 19, 2013
3 min

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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May 17, 2012
2 min

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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Apr 17, 2012
3 min

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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Mar 19, 2012
4 min

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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Jan 18, 2012
2 min

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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Dec 6, 2011
4 min

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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Oct 30, 2011
2 min

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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Sep 22, 2011
2 min

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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Jul 26, 2011
3 min

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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Jun 21, 2011
2 min

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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May 18, 2011
3 min

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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