"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." - Steve Jobs

150+ local government "Summit" attendee rock-stars can't be wrong!!!!

What an exciting CPBB 2013 "Summit of Leading Practices" Annual Conference! I know we are still riding high from the creative energy and innovative concepts discussed during the two day "Summit." We hope you're feeling the "local government high" and take this energy home and apply it in your organization! Thanks to all conference attendees, sponsors, exhibitors, partners and friends!

Beyond the "high", we also left the "Summit" full of  innovative "Leading Practice" inspiration and we're hungry for more! To satisfy your infectious cravings, the CPBB has revisited each conference session on this blog. The intent is to recap the energetic session presentation(s) and reinforce the innovative "leading practice" concepts discussed at the "Summit!"


As the final post in this blog series, we will review the electric Day 2 afternoon conference sessions featuring pioneering local government experts from across the country who have successfully implemented Leading Practices. ENJOY!
 

Douglas County, Nevada has implemented a game-changing approach to citizen engagement. In 2012, the County embarked on the Priority Based Budgeting process with one of the primary objectives being to bring their community into an ownership position with respect to decision making. What unfolded in their groundbreaking use of an online tool to engage citizens sets the bar at a whole new level in participatory budgeting. Not only that, but the County's bond rating was affirmed as a result of their work.

Stephen Mokohrosky, Douglas County, NV Case Study

Citizen engagement in the budget process has been increasingly of interest in local government  budgeting. The logic follows that the more citizens can authentically contribute and influence the decisions being made by their government, the more ownership they might take in their community. Trust increases with transparency. Compassion comes with trust. The benefits are undeniable.

Still, organizations ask us, "but what about the risks inherent in citizen engagement? What is the right role for citizens?" We're asked, "to what degree is it appropriate, safe, meaningful, realistic and effective to have citizens participate in decision making?" In our work, we continue to strive for answers to these questions—they are the right questions. With the potential for such great outcomes, if we can answer those questions correctly, and involve citizens in more meaningful and influential ways, our communities can achieve everything they hope for!

Douglas County, Nevada has put citizens in the driver's seat of their Priority Based Budgeting process. Special thanks to Peak Democracy—our partners in the development of the "County Budget Challenge." 

Read full Douglas County, NV PBB & Citizen Engagement study here.

See the full Douglas County, NV slide presentation here.  

Presenters:
Stephen Mokohrosky
County Manager, Douglas County, Nevada

Kathy Lewis
Budget Manager, Douglas County, Nevada

Christine Vuletich
Assistant County Manager/ Chief Financial Officer, Douglas County, Nevada

Wheat Ridge's Patrick Goff, Nathan Mosley & Heather Geyer

The City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado is the first community to implement the entire approach to Achieving Fiscal Health and Wellness through Priority Based Budgeting—incorporating the Fiscal Health approach to communicating their financial forecast with the PBB process for resource allocation. Hear from City leaders how the Fiscal Health model changed the conversation with their elected officials, and how Priority Based Budgeting is being used to address the budget.

"PBB is truly more than just a way to address your 'budget woes.' The great thing about Priority Based Budgeting is it can help support the type of culture an organization desires by not simply viewing this process as a budget tool when it is really so much more. PBB is helping us further our culture in areas where we know we have room for improvement. PBB is more than being about the state of your budget, it is about the state of your

organization..."

Wheat Ridge, CO City Manager Patrick Goff- Case Study

Presenters:
Patrick Goff
City Manager,
City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Heather Geyer
Administrative Services Director, City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Nathan Mosley
Management Analyst, City of Wheat Ridge, Colorado

The City of Cincinnati’s use of Priority Based Budgeting (through their "Priority Driven Budgeting"

initiative) establishes one of the greatest advancements in the use of the process to guide policy direction. The organization's response to Council’s policy direction provides one of the most comprehensive evaluations of city services across the entire organization.

Many organizations have approached us with a strong desire to bring their elected officials into a constructive and transparent discussion about the budget—Cincinnati has set the bar high in this respect. In the most direct way possible, the City used Priority Based Budgeting to guide policy-oriented discussions. One of the benefits of the process is that it creates specific roles for elected officials to participate and succeed. When elected officials can focus on key policy questions that impact resource allocation, when they’re provided input and transparency in the way their policy questions are answered, and when they can make decisions based on policy impacts, then they’ve played a successful role in budgeting.

Click to read more about Cincinnati's Priority-Driven Budget Initiative with the CPBB.

See the full City of Cincinnati, OH slide presentation here.  

Presenter: Lea Eriksen, Budget Director, City of Cincinnati, OH Case Study

Practitioners Panel Discussion

City of Fort Collins, Colorado 

Fort Collins is one of the world’s leading experts in Results Based Budgeting—a pioneer in the implementation of “Budgeting for Outcomes” (BFO), having most recently integrated “Priority Based Budgeting” as a new layer to support decision making. Hear from the City as they describe what an unwavering commitment to “Results” has meant for their culture and their community.

See the full City of Fort Collins, CO slide presentation here.  

Darin A. Atteberry
City Manager, City of Fort Collins, Colorado

City of Walnut Creek, California

Walnut Creek is one of the earliest implementers of Priority Based Budgeting, having incorporated the process into their culture first in FY 2009–10. Last year, the City spoke about the "sustainability" of the process through changes in leadership – turnover at both the Council and manager levels. This year, come hear how the City has reinvented their budget book for citizens, creating a one-of-a-kind, magazine-style Budget Story to reach their citizens in an entirely new way. Presenting the budget as a story is a game-changing leap in creating transparency in local government budgeting. See the full City of Walnut Creek, CA slide presentation here.  

Lorie Tinfow

Assistant City Manager
City of Walnut Creek, California

 

 

City of Lakeland, Florida

Lakeland, Florida was the first community to implement Priority Based Budgeting after the process was described in the 2008 edition of ICMA’s PM Magazine. Over the past 5-years, the City has successfully evolved the process, incorporating Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to ensure that performance measures support the evaluation of services in the way they do business.

Doug Thomas
City Manager, City of Lakeland, FL


Kindle Bowden
Office of Management & Budget Manager, City of Lakeland, FL

See the full City of Lakeland, FL slide presentation here.  

City of Tualatin, Oregon

The City of Tualatin, Oregon is among the very first to adopt the Fiscal Health

Diagnostic Tool, putting it to use in 2009 and continuing to this day. Fiscal Health has become a means of communication—a translator of financial information for decision makers. In fact, since 2009, the City has been so diligent about using the Diagnostic Tool to maintain their Fiscal Health, we joke that they have prevented the need to ever use Priority Based Budgeting! Come see how the City uses Fiscal Health to communicate with elected officials, and as a data-visualization tool that depicts real-time impacts of various scenarios with a financial impact.

 See the full City of Tualatin, OR slide presentation here. 

Don Hudson
Finance Director,
City of Tualatin, Oregon

Boone County, Illinois


Boone County, Illinois provides a stunning illustration of how the principles of Fiscal Health can be used to strengthen a community's bond rating—a "Holy Grail" of sorts, in terms of using the principles in the most effective way possible!

In “Excelling in Times of Fiscal Distress,” an article Bob O'Neill wrote for Governing Magazine, about the time that Boone County was adopting Fiscal Health, he wrote “Most of us can articulate the early-warning signs that preceded the current economic downturn: Global forces that dramatically changed the local, state, and federal playing fields. Skyrocketing fuel costs. A failing housing market... property tax limitations. Yet, many of us failed to correctly interpret these early-warning signs in relation to their impact on our government organizations.”

Interpretation is the key! That is what Boone County has excelled in—both with their elected officials, and with the bond rating agencies.  

See the full Boone County, IL slide presentation here. 

Kenneth A. Terrinoni
County Administrator, Boone County, Illinois 

ICMA Center for Management Strategies Group 

DropBox


See the following links to revisit prior CPBB "Summit of Leading Practices" conference blog recaps:

Explosive "Summit of Leading Practices" Day 1 Recap 

The Innovation Tsunami of the CPBB 2013 "Summit of Leading Practices" Conference Wrap-Up

Feeding the CPBB "Summit" Inspired "Local Government High"

CPBB "Summit" Local Government High: ICMA & AFI Keynote Address Recap

CPBB "Summit" Local Government High: PBB from an Elected Officials Perspective, Civic Engagement and Citizen Surveys Recap

CPBB "Summit" Local Government High: Long Term Financial Planning, PBB as Civic Innovation and High Performance Organizations

Keep an eye on the CPBB blog for further updates and to feed the "local government high" inspired by the "Summit." Sign-up for our social media pages so you stay connected with TEAM CPBB!

    

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.

                                                 

"DATA VISUALIZATION" for Local G