Several weeks ago, I read a news story that led one to ponder why there appears to be no end in sight to the record unemployment that plagues our state and nation even though the economy is heating up?
While some might be surprised to see little correlation between the economic rebound and job losses, those who adjusted to the economic downtown by changing the way we live, changing the way we run our businesses and even changing the way we provide government services during the economic downturn are likely not be surprised.
It is my view that the ways of yesterday are not likely to return. We learned to do things differently will do things even more differently as we
face the challenges of tomorrow. People who saw friends and colleagues laid off during the recession learned to work a little harder, carry out their missions a little more efficiently and became more productive.
Businesses that cut costs and survived are not necessarily going to return to more costly ways when savings go to the bottom line.
But going back to the city let me explain some changes I have seen over the past year and a half.
During my tenure working as a staffer in the Congress, my service in the SC House of Representatives (1992-96) and my term as a member of Beaufort City Council (2000-2004), each budget session started with the previous year’s base revenue, then projected additional revenues economic growth would bring, added projected revenues to the budget and finally ended up doing more of what they had done in the previous year. Because this “worked” and there was no urgency to do otherwise, rarely did we dig deeply to examine what we were doing, how we were doing it and how we might do it better. More money bought more of the same. Our government grew with the economy.
Not surprisingly, when growth came to a screeching halt, windfall revenues disappeared, and many became paralyzed, like deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming car, not knowing what to do to manage shortfalls.
Most public bodies arbitrarily cut programs across the board while also cutting taxes because that is what the people wanted. Accordingly, services became irregular, rampant cuts ate into core missions and much of government came to a standstill rather than being proactive in order to provide the services the people expected.
Your city took a very different approach. Last year, with the full support of City Council, management used a scalpel and not a meat cleaver: first they weeded out some top management because maintaining the workers performing services to the residents was most important. (Fortunately, attrition and incented early retirements made the transition gentler for employees who are no longer with the City.)
With one exception, which was at that time beyond control because bonds had been issued, Council postponed capital spending until we can afford it. We learned that by doing things differently we could better manage our expenses and ended last year without having to raise taxes for government operations.
As we are preparing the fiscal year 2011 Budget, staff is taking us one step further in changing and improving the ways we manage our financials.
Prior to budget preparation, City’s department heads went though a comprehensive budget training program, called performance budgeting, created by City staff in collaboration with the Technical College of the Lowcountry.
Unlike previous years, where department heads started with the previous year’s base budget and simply added on, each department head started his or her budget with a clean sheet of paper. Step one was to outline their department’s core mission. The next step was to determine: What are core services? What are the staffing requirements to accomplish the mission? How many staff hours will it take to accomplish required services? What are the most current and progressive training protocols? What are the most efficient means for scheduling shifts? What capital needs will be required to accomplish the mission? In other words, what is absolutely necessary and what are the frills? By the end of the end of the exercise, each department head had determined staffing requirements, removed overlap between functions and presented a budget proposal based on what it will actually take to get the job done.
The good news is that, through using this performance based budgeting process; it appears departments will be able to maintain budget levels while even providing a well deserved cost of living increase to employees who have not seen this benefit in recent years.
Like many families and businesses throughout the land, the City of Beaufort is making the most of less, while reaching higher into the sky to do a better job and set a new standard for managing your tax dollars.
Lavish spending of past years is gone and we will all be better for it while leaving a legacy of “new ways” for those who follow. Thank you staff, TCL and Performance Based Budgeting for a new day!
Billy Keyserling