City governments are going bankrupt. Even the ones that aren’t are often stuck in financial chaos. It is easy to blame pensions, poor leadership, or a bad economy. But the problems go much deeper. With decades of experience in local government, author Mark Moses showcases the inside world of the city decision-making process that has spawned these crises. It becomes clear: City governments are maxing out their budgets because they are trying to maximize services. This book, likely the most ambitious attempt by someone who has worked in government to radically examine the delivery of municipal services since 'Reinventing Government' was published more than 25 years ago, explores why city governments pursue an open-ended mission and why bailouts and trendy budgeting processes will be, at best, only temporary solutions. Of interest to current and future city council members, regional and state government officials, those covering city government, financial analysts, city management, and individuals and organizations interested in influencing city policy, this book argues that cities won’t thrive until city hall is disrupted.
Author(s): Mark Moses
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 184
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Author
List of Tables
1 Introduction
2 Cities in Crisis
Deciding Where to Start
Missions, Visions, and Decisions
Revisiting Assumptions
Faces of the Crisis
3 Inside the Crisis of Municipal Budgeting
The Finance Director
When Every Problem Is a Budget Problem
Governing the Modern Municipal Organization
Elected Officials and the Budget
The Budget Ritual
The Bankrupt Meaning of “Balanced Budget”
The Separate Worlds of Budgeting and Financial Reporting
Local Government Is Not a Business
The State of the Traditional Budgeting Process
4 Conventional Budgeting Solutions
Zero-Base Budgeting
Performance Budgeting
The Dark Future of Municipal Budgeting
5 The Ritual of Financial Analysis and Its Failure
Financial and Economic Analysis Applied
The Invisible Source of City Revenues
The Total Cost of Municipal Monopolies and Franchises
The Total Cost of Municipal Ventures
Analyzing Other Services and Activities
Defining Financial Sustainability
Foreseeable Future
6 Bankrupt Financial Remedies
Operational Improvements (Technology and Process Efficiencies)
Service Delivery Restructuring: Privatization and Regionalization
Privatization
Regionalization: Consolidation and Shared Services
Community Engagement and Budget Participation
More and Better Information: Data and Transparency
Other Financial Tactics: Policies and Diagnostics
New Paradigms for Decision-Making
The Limits of Municipal Bankruptcy
Additional Tax Revenues
Thoughts and Prayers
7 Discovering the Value of City Government
My Journey
What Is a City Government?
Evaluating and Classifying Municipal Activities
8 Municipal Decision-Making Understood
Group Force vs. Individual Freedom Decision-Making
Decision-Making Standards
Decision-Making Methods
Unintended Consequences and Merely Consequences
The Path Forward
9 Budgeting for Scope
Budgeting for Scope
Activities That Are Worth Retaining Are Worth Fixing
Scoping the Organization’s Internal Policies
When It Is Too Late
A Solution or Just Another Nonsolution
10 Municipal Government After the Crisis
Additional Recommendations, Blind Spots, and Deal Making
Predictions
Fixing Municipal Budgeting
Bibliography
Index
