Identifying and Addressing Agency Resource Needs

Project Goal

To develop a program budget request to be implemented in your agency (or, if you do not work in a public safety agency, for an agency of your choice).

Course Objectives Satisfied:

Relate budgeting concepts to an organization's mission, goals, and operation.

Illustrate the roles of a leader vs. manager within a public safety organization and how that may impact the budgeting process.

Depict the value of ethics in the managing of a budget within an organization.

Develop skills in written communication.

Assignment Overview

The process of preparing, obtaining approval for, and implementing a budget can be complex. To best understand this process, it is very helpful to interview those that are experienced with the budget process for a public safety agency. Also, a review and analysis of current strategic plans and budget documents will help students understand the relationships between agency objectives and resources obtained in the annual budget.

For this project you will be required to research a specific public safety program, which you will advocate should be implemented in your agency (if you do not work for a public safety agency, choose one in your local area). You will write the program goals and expected performance measures for this program and develop its budget.

From your research, interviews, course readings, review of programming in other agencies, journal articles and discussions, you will develop a budget request covering specific needs for the program that you believe should be implemented for your agency. For example, in a police department, this might be the addition of a crime prevention unit, a target specific undercover unit in a police department, or a program for juvenile offenders.

For a fire department, the program might address starting a new training academy, implementing a battalion safety officer program, or starting a new volunteer program. The type of program to be developed should be decided based on your interviews and other research, along with a review of agency documents, some of which will give you the information you need to calculate the cost of personnel and equipment for this program.

Please note that the program should include the addition of at least three (3) additional personnel and associated equipment, vehicles, supplies and office space.

This is necessary to build a more comprehensive budget, for the project, and to demonstrate your understanding in how to do so. This project will be completed in two parts. Your professor/instructor may add additional considerations for this project in class announcements.

Methods

As soon as possible after the course starts, begin developing your plan to study a particular program not in operation at your agency, or, if you are not employed by a public safety agency, an agency in the area you live.

Some of this information might be gained from the agency Web site, or by visiting the local library in that jurisdiction and researching budget documents (if you do not work for an agency). Interviews are valuable on a research project of this type and should be used as part of your work on this project.

As soon as possible you should locate a member, or members, of that agency that you can interview and use to gather information needed for this project, particularly the financial data necessary. If you have any difficulty locating someone to interview, please contact your instructor immediately.

While interviewing people in the agency, try to discern the actual costs involved in adding personnel, floor space or equipment needed for your budget request. Budget documents may provide some of this information, too.

Part II - Budget Request

This paper should:

Be 4-6 pages in length, conforming to APA writing standards

Be addressed to the governing body for the jurisdiction by including a memo for the report, or follow a format suggested by your instructor in any announcement provided regarding this paper

Include an APA formatted reference section

Content:

Background on the issue that will be satisfied if the program is approved

Discussion of the program to be implemented, including program goals and objectives, and operational mission and focus. Give as much detail as needed to convince the governing body of this need. However, be concise.

Fiscal impact of the program: these are the resource requirements, including new personnel needed, equipment, space and other costs that would be rolled into the new budget (this can be covered in an overview in the memo, but a spreadsheet or table of the actual details should be attached to your proposal). Include projected costs for the program over the next three years in this area of the report.

Summary, to include a brief overview of the request.

Attachment:- Proposal.rar