Agency Budget Exercise
Abstract
This paper addresses budget issues of agencies in
communities of the U.S. It will give a brief overview of agency samples as to
community size, agency size, and responsibilities of agencies. This paper will
describe the type of budget process utilized by three differing agencies and
discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the budgets. The paper will assess
the effects of the budget on employees, citizens and stakeholders. Lastly, a
summation of findings and recommendations are offered.
Legal services serve a large community characterized by
low-income individuals, children, families, seniors, and veterans in 813
offices in every congressional district. With a budget of $375m for the fiscal
year 2015, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) stands out as the largest
single funder of civil legal aid distributing more than 90 percent of its total
funding to 134 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in the United States
(Legal Services, 2019). LSC responsibilities includes promotion of equal access
to justice by providing funding to 133 independent non-profit legal aid
programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories.
Budget Process
The operating budget is the most common type of budget used
in the public and private sectors. LSC utilizes the program Compare Doc to see
clearly a summary analysis of the fiscal year and Appropriation Spreadsheet
that details line items, comparing each item’s appropriations to coincide with
each budget decision. Annually updated tables in Excel and PDF formats are
created going back to the 1970s (Legal Services, 2019).
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Differing Budgets
There
are various advantages and disadvantages of budgets. The educational budget is shared for K-12
schools and community colleges. It is intended to give students who cannot
afford their education a chance at higher education. Emergency services are our
first responders and is responsible for emergencies. This budget is used to add
more staff, training and update and replace equipment. Legal services budget
operates in assisting those who cannot afford legal representation. The
advantages and disadvantages of the various budgets; education receives more
teachers or new computers or learning tablets and learning supplies, emergency
services receives extra help, or training and tools needed to carry out jobs
safely. Providing the community with free legal services when they need it has
proven to benefit the innocent and has saved a lot of people from serving time
for crimes they did not commit. The disadvantage is that there still does not
seem to be enough money to sustain any of these services because the need and
the demand is just too great (Paviour, 2018).
Effects
of Budgets on Employees, Citizens, & Stakeholders
The city of Chicago, IL is facing an $838 million budget
gap. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is in favor of a property tax hike which affects
citizens and business owners. However, aldermen of Chicago are urging Lightfoot
to contemplate imposing “in lieu of” payments on hospitals, universities, and
nonprofits who utilize public safety services, yet pay no property taxes
(Spielman, 2019, p. 9). Universities, hospitals, and nonprofits have immense
grants and resources that enable them to fully pay for services.
New York Mayor De Blasio who ran a presidential campaign
promised to make the city more equitable, contrasting the haves versus the have
nots, using the campaign slogan “A Tale of Two Cities”. In May, De Blasio
stated that New York’s $92.5 million budget would be very cautious, yet with a
police overtime cap, De Blasio allows overtime for officers who follow him
around all day as security while on the campaign trail (Sanders, 2019). De
Blasio also refused to say whether taxpayers have a right to know how much his
campaign spends on security for his travels outside of the city. For instance,
administrative officers are capped at 20 hours of overtime a month and homicide
detectives are limited to 30 hours per month (Sanders, 2019).
The Los Angeles City Council approved their $9.9 billion
budget with $450 million set aside for homeless services. Also included in the
budget are allocated funds for emergency shelters, yet citizens of Koreatown
are at odds with such a service. City Councilman Paul Krekorian states it is a
trial to address homelessness, but it poses a challenge to all residents
(Southern California, 2019).
Findings
and Recommendations
Based on the previous above-mentioned research, improving
the budgeting process to fund programs and to maintain existing programs, is
often a necessity. One way to improve the budgeting process is to classify
income and expenses into various categories. Budgeting and forecasting should
be flexible and be communicated early on. Budgeting should involve a teamwork
philosophy as it affects citizens, policy makers, businesses, and other
stakeholders. Clear goals should be set, and various scenarios worked out for
the common good. Track progress throughout the fiscal year.
Conclusion
This paper looked at several agencies and the issues each
one faces during a fiscal year in the budget process. Each agency works out a
budget, making decisions on how to increase revenue, spend money, and fund
budgets that often fall short of the target goal. These budgets affect
stakeholders in various ways; increased property taxes, hiring employees,
taxing businesses, funding programs and initiatives, etc. Each agency works as
a team to accomplish the goals and objectives of the budget and assesses these
goals with progress reports. The budget created will not please everyone as the
main goal is to fund operations for a fiscal year.
References
Legal Services Corporation (n.d). How Legal Aid
Works. LSC: Americas Partner for Equal Justice. Retrieved from
https://www.lsc.gov/
Paviour, M.
(2018). 2018 ACT budget: Growing services for our growing city. ACT
Government. Retrieved from https://apps.treasury.act.gov.au/budget/budget-2018-2019/media-releases/2018-act-budget-growing-services-for-our-growing-city
Sanders, A. (2019). De Blasio’s police detail will
reap overtime from presidential bid despite OT cap. Daily News. Retrieved
from https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-bill-de-blasio-nypd-detail-police-overtime-cap-20190522-3n2nimywwncufns6lopungtgfy-story.html
Southern
California Public Radio. (2019). $9.9 billion Los Angeles city budget approved
with $450 million for homeless services. 89.3KPCC The Voice of Southern
California. Retrieved from https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/05/21/83368/9-9-billion-los-angeles-city-budget-approved-with/
Spielman, F. (2019). How can Chicago erase $838
million budget shortfall? Lightfoot asks alderman for ideas. Chicago Sun
Times. Retrieved from https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2019/9/26/20884212/mayor-lightfoot-city-budget-deficit-aldermen-ideas-revenue-cost-cutting
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