"... you’ve completed the package of a “Mission Control Center” for every government leader, every elected official, every manager, and maybe every citizen!”
Mission Control
Something very interesting occurred at GFOA’s Annual
Conference in Philadelphia just a few weeks ago. Yes, it was certainly
interesting that over 800 people attended our session on Program Budgeting –
interesting, humbling and thrilling!
But what was REALLY interesting is a comment that came from
a CFO after the session – she said: “you’ve built a Mission Control for
governments!” I asked her to explain, and she continued: “we’ve implemented
Priority Based Budgeting (PBB), we’ll be launching Online PBB together and then
implementing Online Fiscal Health too. With Online Program Costing [what we
unveiled at GFOA’s Conference during our presentation] you’ve completed the
package of a “Mission Control Center” for every government leader, every
elected official, every manager, and maybe every citizen!”
Not only was I floored, but I was moved. She’s exactly
right! As practitioners, when Jon and I developed these concepts and tools while working for Jefferson County, CO, we
projected these models on the screens and walls of every Board meeting, staff meeting and every citizen town hall forum we supported.
After a while, to our surprise (and delight!), our own
elected officials became addicted, insisting “put that red-line/blue-line thing
back on the wall” every time there was a decision to be made that required a
resource allocation decision. This was our dream!
And now, with the suite of
integrated, online tools for Fiscal Health, Program Costing and Priority Based
Budgeting in action, Mission Control has launched (just like our audience
members said) to every government, every school district, every board room of
every organization!
CPBB "Mission Control" video
The Eagle has landed
The dream of Mission Control arouses an image of Captain
Kirk at the helm of the Enterprise, or the patchy radio feed as Buzz Aldrin and
Neil Armstrong landed the Apollo 11 on the moon, with the erupting team of
directors and analysts back at “Houston” embracing each other with the triumph
of their mission. The moon landing is such a vivid image, especially as it
reminds us of one of government’s great moments – indeed this was a government
program that got us to the moon!
As so many of us in local government know all too well, it
seems like it’s been a while since government has been the source of such
inspiration, such triumph, such promise!
And maybe…. Maybe this is what is so moving to us at CPBB
about our audience member’s observation “you’ve created Mission Control for
government.” As we prepare for the CPBB "Data-Focused Communities" Conference where the entire community
of implementers of Fiscal Health, Program Costing and Priority Based Budgeting
are assembling, we see it among our implementers and those who are coming on
board: we’re all on a vastly important New Mission together.
Our New Mission – Our Apollo Moment for Government
The opportunity we all have in front of us is here, to
reverse the downward trend in public trust, to restore the faith in government as a
leader in creating communities that are safer, healthier, smarter, economically thriving
and enriching!
As hard as it is to pick up a Time Magazine and be confronted
with a fearful headline “Is your City next?” with the image of Detroit in the
background; the opportunity we have is to re-imagine ourselves at the forefront of
a new mission, with the very stake of our communities on the line.
For every desperately dedicated city or county manager, for
every visionary finance director, for every ambitious and committed elected
official who came to public service to create and inspire greatness in their
communities – we are on your team! And bringing “Mission Control” to your
organization is our contribution to your success. Let’s do this together!
Center for Priority Based Budgeting
2015 Annual Conference
Denver, Colorado | August 4 - 6, 2015
Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel
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