Evaluate the political impacts of budget reductions on the image and support of the agency.

Evaluate the political impacts of budget reductions on the image and support of the agency.

BUDGET CUTTING

Public administrators will never be able to provide the community with all the services they desire in terms of quality and quantity. This shifts the goal to providing the greatest level of services possible, based on the resources allocated. To some extent, the mechanical aspects of creating a budget are simple. What do you want to do? What needs to be done to accomplish it? How much will that cost? That simple process is complicated by the need to integrate differing stakeholders, as discussed throughout the course. However, once a budget is crafted, it might be necessary to reduce it for a number of reasons. Any such budget reduction will have ramifications to the public, to the organization, and to the governing body of the community (legislative decision makers) that approves the budget. In this assignment, you will explore this further by developing proposed budget cuts to a specific department.

You may want to revisit the media piece Riverbend City: Budget Cuts, which is included in the resources. It provides some insight into the complexities of implementing budget cuts.

For this assignment, you will focus on the specific department or agency you identified in your Unit 2 assignment, not the community at large. You will be recommending specific budget cuts to that specific department, providing insights into how the proposed budget cuts may affect services, as well as how the proposed budget cuts may affect future support for the department and the leadership of the community. Please remember that these will take the form of proposals. In most organizations, the budget for individual departments is created, approved, and, in the end, overseen by the governing body for the community (that is, the city or county council, state or federal legislature, et cetera).

Special note: If you elect to focus on a nonprofit agency or a special task district (that is, fire, school, water, et cetera), you will be working from the perspective of that nonprofit or special task district, as it is a stand-alone entity.

Using the department budget selected in the Unit 2 assignment, complete the following:

• Analyze factors that might contribute to a reduction in revenue streams for your organization.
• Analyze the impact on public services of a 5-percent reduction in expenditures for your organization, providing specifics on what will be cut and analyzing how those cuts might affect service quality and quantity to the public.
• Analyze the impact on public services of a 10-percent reduction in expenditures for your organization, providing specifics on what will be cut and analyzing how those cuts might affect service quality and quantity to the public.
• Evaluate the political impacts of budget reductions on the image and support of the agency.
• Evaluate the political impacts of budget reductions on the image and support of the governing body.

Be sure to follow an academic writing style through well-organized prose and follow APA style, citation, and referencing guidelines.

Review the Budget Cutting Scoring Guide carefully before crafting your assignment, contacting your instructor if you have any questions.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Your assignment should meet the following requirements:

• APA format: Follow current APA style and formatting.
• Length: 6–8 double-spaced pages, excluding cover page, references, and, if included, an abstract.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.