"Priority based budgeting is something that we believe will greatly benefit our County for the next decade” - County Administrator Joshua Schoemann
"To see Washington
County take the lead in Wisconsin is a true mark of their leadership, their
dedication to financial transparency and accountability to their citizens, and
to optimizing their approach to allocating their precious resources to the
outcomes that matter most and impact their community to the highest degree,”
notes CPBB Co-Founder Chris Fabian.Congratulations Washington County, WI! The CPBB looks forward to partnering with your community!
See the full press release below.
First County
Government in Wisconsin to Launch Priority Based Budgeting
Washington County
will be among the first 100 local government entities nationwide and the first
County government in the State of Wisconsin to implement priority based budgeting
through the Center for Priority Based Budgeting, a firm dedicated to helping
local governments address fiscal realities in an entirely new way. The County Board approved the program at its
March 9th meeting.
Priority based budgeting
will provide a comprehensive review of the entire County organization by identifying every program offered, the costs
of those programs, and the relevance of those programs on the basis of the County
Board's priorities.
While the process is
new for the County, the direction is not.
The County Board has been very consistent in their desire to apply
business principles to county government: reduce County debt, reduce the tax
levy, and take a more measured approach to how we fund county government. The 2015 budget, the County’s first budget by
an administrator, realized all of the goals set by the County Board. Taxpayers saw debt reduced by $501,985 and the
largest reduction in the property tax levy in the history of Washington
County. Priority based budgeting is an
effort to continue this focus in the future.
“Priority based budgeting
is something that we believe will greatly benefit our County for the next
decade,” said County Administrator Joshua Schoemann. “We are an arm of the State and many of the
services that we provide are mandated from other levels of government. How we achieve or exceed these mandates is a
matter of policy priority and this process will allow us to have these discussions.”
The objective of
priority based budgeting is to make sure all tax dollars are being used to
accomplish the programs that are important to the County. The first step of the process will include
working with staff and the County Board to identify results. The program rates
the priority of every County program based on the results determined during the
first step of the process. The process
concludes by evaluating the lowest priority programs and the tax dollars that
are allocated to those programs.
“To see Washington
County take the lead in Wisconsin is a true mark of their leadership, their
dedication to financial transparency and accountability to their citizens, and
to optimizing their approach to allocating their precious resources to the
outcomes that matter most and impact their community to the highest degree,”
noted the media release from the Center for Priority Based Budgeting.
Agencies such as
Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s began accounting for Priority Based Budgeting
in their evaluation of a community’s credit worthiness and professional associations such as the
International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Alliance for
Innovation have declared Priority Based Budgeting a Leading Practice that all
local governments should implement.
To learn more about Priority Based Budgeting, visit www.pbbcenter.org.
If you're thinking of jumping into the world of Fiscal Health and Wellness through Priority Based Budgeting we would certainly like to be part of your efforts! Contact us to schedule a free webinar and identify the best CPBB service option(s) to meet your organization's particular needs.
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