Friday, June 14, 2013

Priority Based Budgeting and The Power Inversion: Case Studies in the “Decade of Local Government”



David Brooks recent NY Times op-ed, "The Power Inversion" is a Must-Read article for anybody in local government!

Says Brooks, “Washington paralysis is already leading to a power inversion. As the federal government becomes less energetic, city governments become more so.”

ICMA Executive Director Bob O’Neill has been arguing this same point, as he described in "The Coming Decade of Local Government".

Says O’Neill, “the next decade will be a time in which the fiscal woes of federal and state governments will leave local and regional governments on their own, struggling to balance the need for innovation against the necessity of making tough choices… it will also be a decade in which local government will lead the way in developing creative solutions to extraordinary problems. There are a number of reasons to be optimistic about this coming decade of local government”

In our work at the Center for Priority Based Budgeting, we see this idea playing out in a major way, and it is bringing up a very interesting challenge. If the Federal Government is less effective in achieving the results that our citizens desire, does this mean that the pressure increases on local government to “do more with less?” Or, is the opportunity in front of local government to conduct a departure from the status quo, harnessing the power of local partnerships, reallocating resources to top priority programs (while divesting ourselves of lower priority investments), and permanently increasing our ability to improve the lives of our citizens?



We invite you to see examples of the Power Inversion at play:

Douglas County, Nevada has reallocated resources to increase transportation funding my millions of dollars – all local dollars at play!

City of Boulder, Colorado has focused resource reallocation opportunities to fund high-priority energy initiatives in the City. No Federal dollars here.

City of Fort Collins, Colorado has partnered in a start-up incubator project to launch small businesses and super-charge the local economy. 

In all of these organizations, the Power Inversion and Priority Based Budgeting come together to demonstrate the ability to accomplish what was once only possible with the resources of the Federal Government. These organizations haven’t waited for Federal resources to make incredible progress. The decade of local government is indeed underway!

To learn more about Priority Based Budgeting from CPBB and the nation's leading local government practitioners, be sure to attend the upcoming... 
 

 

Center for Priority Based Budgeting 2013 Annual Conference

 

"A Summit of Leading Practices"

July 9 & 10, 2013  Arlington, Virginia   Hilton Crystal City Hotel

 

REGISTER NOW!

 

Brought to you by the Center for Priority Based Budgeting (CPBB) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), in partnership with the Alliance for Innovation (AFI).

 

The 2013 "Summit of Leading Practices" is the ONLY conference where ICMA's Leading Practices for Local Government Management come together under one roof. 

The 2013 CPBB "Summit of Leading Practices" Annual Conference is strongly supported by 
Quartile 1 sponsor SAFEbuilt, Quartile 2 sponsor ClearPoint, Supporting Sponsor Beehive Industries and Exhibitors OpenGov and Revelstone Labs. Thank you sponsors!

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