William C. Rivenbark

Conceptualizing Financial Condition In Local Government

While the passage of Statement No. 34 by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB, 1999) created a more robust financial reporting model, local officials continue to struggle with defining financial condition, interpreting it from annual financial statements, and communicating it in a systematic way. This review presents a framework for analyzing, interpreting, and communicating financial condition within the fund and government-wide reporting structure. It specifically responds to the void in the public administration literature for a manageable, yet comprehensive, approach to financial condition analysis. The goal is to help local officials conceptualize financial condition from the interpretation of resource flow and stock as presented in annual financial statements.

Performance Budgeting in Municipal Government

Greater details about how municipalities use performance measures during budget preparation and adoption emerge when performance budgeting is defined as a process rather than a management tool for outcome. Such a definition is justified by the multiple accountabilities associated with public budgeting, including political, financial, and performance accountability. A survey of municipalities with populations of 2,500 and above was conducted in the fall of 2002 to determine the prevalence of performance budgeting in municipal government. This research finds that municipalities of all sizes are building capacity for performance budgeting by adopting performance measurement systems and by augmenting their budget processes with performance results. We also find that performance measures are used to inform budget decisions—especially when the budget request is new or significantly expanded.

Management Innovation in Smaller Municipal Government

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION has monitored a quarter-century of evolution in innovative management practices in mu nicipal government. Based on the sample of municipalities from which management surveys were drawn, zero-based budgeting and management-by-objectives gave way to performance measurement and benchmarking during this period. With rare exception, the management innovation studies sponsored by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) have been limited to municipalities with populations of 25,000 and above. Although the survey response rate tends to be higher and innovative management practices more common in larger municipalities (Coplin, Merget, and Bourdeaux 2002), limiting the study of management innovation to the 1,395 municipalities with populations of 25,000 and above is problematic. There are 5,586 municipalities in the population range of 2,500 to 24,999 in the United States, constituting 80 percent of the 6,981 municipalities in the nation with populations of 2,500 and above (ICMA 2002). This article explores management innovation in the 80 percent of municipalities that we know little about, building on the extensive literature established from the 20 percent of mu nicipalities, which have populations of 25,000 and above. Based on a national survey of smaller municipalities, we present the adoption rates of certain management tools and compare them with the rates of larger municipalities obtained from previously published survey results. We then distinguish between adoption and implementation of innovation (see de Lancer Julnes and Holzer 2001) to determine whether the tools that establish the framework of performance management have actually been used to enhance decision-making processes in the core functions of management. Finally, we present the implications of this research and previous studies on management innovation in local government.

A comparative analysis of performance management systems: The cases of sicily and North Carolina

Performance management is maturing as an effective organizational approach in public organizations around the world, but the existing models have limitations that must be addressed. The international comparative case study analysis in this article presents policy recommendations and organizational strategies on how regional governments can create more robust performance management systems for higher levels of accountability and transparency in a time of global economic crisis. These include the consideration of organizational structure regarding alignment, control, and culture, the positive impact of performance management legislation, the role of executive leadership, and the need for an informational infrastructure that supports performance management.

Benchmarking and cost accounting: the North Carolina approach

Benchmarking is a management tool that promotes process improvement. By comparing service units across jurisdictions, best practices can be identified and used to enhance less efficient and effective operations. However, the lack of generally accepted criteria to compare service costs for local government has hindered benchmarking initiatives. One of the key components of the North Carolina Local Government Performance Measurement Project (NCLGPMP) is the full-cost accounting model developed to ensure that localities employ the same methodology to collect and report cost data associated with performance measures. This article presents an overview of the development and implementation issues associated with that model and highlights the areas of direct costs, indirect costs, and capital costs. It is argued that accuracy and comparability of performance and cost data are the fundamental ingredients of a benchmarking and performance measurement project.

Performance measurement: a local government response

Previous research has indicated that municipalities regularly collect performance data. A survey of medium-to-large southeastern cities supports that conclusion, but cautions that limited emphasis is placed on performance during budget construction. Prior-year expenditures drive the budget at the preparation phase. Performance information is added at the presentation phase for explication and to conform norms promulgated by professional budgeting organizations.

Auditing Performance Data in Local Government

Performance measurement for local government represents the implementation of performance measurement systems, the collection of performance data, and the calculation of performance measures for operational accountability. There is another dimension of performance measurement that has gone unnoticed in public administration literature, auditing the accuracy of performance data used to create performance statistics. This article describes why performance data must be audited and presents an approach to auditing the accuracy of them. It concludes that additional research is needed on auditing performance data and that the auditing process sets the stage for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.

The Tax Incidence of Casino Gaming in Mississippi

In 1990, the Mississippi legislature passed the Gaming Control Act, legalizing dockside casino gaming for the state of Mississippi. During FYs 1993, 1994, and 1995, the state collected a combined total of

A Historical Overview of Cost Accounting in Local Government

256.9 million in gamingfees and taxes from the casino industry. The

Performance Management in Local Government: The Application of System Dynamics to Promote Data Use

128.6 million received in FY 1995 equated to 5.04% of the states generalfund revenue. This study determines the tax incidence of casino gaming in Mississippi for the eight casino counties and the remaining noncasino counties, taking into account accessibility to casino play. During April 23, 1995, and April 27, 1995, a telephone survey produced 397 and 410 usable responses from casino counties and noncasino counties, respectively. Using log-linear regression analysis, it was found that although the tax incidence was regressive for both populations, a more regressive tax ensued from counties with casino gaming. This research provides additional evidence to the theory that once readily available, the poor become more attracted to gaming endeavors.