The budget process involves making and implementing decisions about taxes and spending. An important skill for the public policy professional is to evaluate an Annual Budget for a government jurisdiction. Throughout this course, you will be completing activities based on the Annual Operating Budget of a local government jurisdiction. To complete this Discussion, obtain the current Annual Operating Budget of a large, full-service local government jurisdiction in your area. Refer to the example instructions from the Final Project Overview document provided in this week’s Learning Resources to locate a budget for your local jurisdiction.
Understanding the relevance of the numbers presented in the Annual Operating Budget requires an understanding of the jurisdiction. For example, in reviewing personnel costs, it is important to know the size of the jurisdiction’s population and the type of services provided. Does the city own and operate a transit system? If so, the number of public employees will be larger than a jurisdiction of the same size population that does not operate a transit system. Consider these ideas in preparing for this week’s Discussion.
By Day 3
Post by Day 3 a description of the following information for the jurisdiction for which you have obtained an Annual Budget. Your examination should include the following:
Name of jurisdiction
Web address of jurisdiction
Description of jurisdiction (county, city, township, etc., and the type of services the jurisdiction provides)
Population
Total expenditure budget for current year