Chris Fabian and Jon Johnson presented their strategy for dealing with a
fiscal crisis at NACo’s 2008 Annual Conference in Jackson County, Missouri (Kansas City) at a workshop for members entitled “Achieving Fiscal Health and Wellness.” In their approach, “wellness” means maintaining fiscal health into the future.
An organization achieves fiscal health by:
„„ identifying the symptoms causing
„„ the imbalance,
„„ diagnosing the root cause,
„„ and prescribing treatment to achieve desired outcomes.
Charged with addressing Jefferson County’s financial crisis, they developed these five indicators of fiscal health to guide its assessment:
„„ Spend within our means.
„„ Establish and maintain reserves
„„ Understand variances. For example, before this initiative the county had a carry-forward in its capital budget of some $75 million to $85 million.
„„ Be transparent about the true cost of doing business, and
„„ Translate a stabilization plan to county commissioners so they can make effective decisions.
Achieving fiscal wellness in the future requires setting priorities – determining the outcomes government wants based on a ranking of values, programs and services. Prioritization also enables government to better understand why certain programs exist and which ones can be funded at a lower level while still meeting desired outcomes.
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