If you have ever attempted to assemble or repair something with the wrong tool, you know how difficult it can be.

Author Ryan Holiday said, “The obstacle in the path becomes the path.”

Program budget development is the critical piece that has been years in the making...

So much has changed in local government budgeting since Shayne Kavanagh (GFOA) and Chris Fabian (ResourceX) wrote their 2015 ground-breaking essay "The Challenges and Promise of Program Budgeting."

How Governments should think about Revenue, Resilience post COVID Lockdowns

Just when you thought Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) couldn’t get any better, ResourceX is taking it to the next level with the release of the new OnlinePBB Budgeter. ResourceX is excited to introduce the world’s first program and priority-based budgeting platform.

I recently read a quote from Mike Mucha, Director of Research at GFOA, in the October issue of Governing where he stated, "The budget is, basically, the center of the government universe. It's where decisions about what's important get funded."

Methodology Matters

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), signed into law on March 11, 2021, was created in response to the devastating impacts COVID-19 has had on communities nationwide. It infused state and local governments with more than $350 billion to support economies and communities struggling in the wake of the pandemic. This funding was designed with the specific purposes of supporting front-line workers, advancing public health initiatives, boosting relief to businesses and households, remedying systemic challenges to populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and investing in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.

Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, has been working with ResouceX since 2019. They utilize OnlinePBB for operating budgets and prioritize their Capital projects through the Priority Based Budgeting process. In the years since launching with ResourceX, they have demonstrated thought leadership, project ownership, and continuously push the program budgeting movement forward as leaders in the PBB community.

So, it came as no surprise that their 2022 Operating and Capital Budgets once again demonstrated a forward movement meriting recognition and celebration. But let's take a step back and think about why a movement forward in local government budgeting is so important. 

Local government leaders are not only tasked with the responsibility of making crucial decisions that impact the citizens in the community, but they must also meet resident demands for providing insight into why those decisions were made. The foundational unit of a Priority Based Budget, the Program, captures and communicates data layers in an easy-to-communicate format.

"It’s an approach that can advance innovation while offering financial and operational advantages for the typical, day-to-day services that local governments operate."