Scenario for Assignments 1-5

For Assignments 1-5, you are the new budgeting and finance administrator for your local government agency. Your first responsibility is to become familiar with the agency, the budget, programs, and capital projects. As the administrator, you will be responsible for analyzing, examining, proposing, and preparing the agency's budget for the next five years.

Note: Students cannot use New York City as a selected local government

Assignment 2: The Capital Budget

Refer the Scenario for Assignments 1-5. Forecast salaries, revenue estimating, and prepare the capital budget.

Using the budget from the selected agency, write a five to six page paper in which you:

1. Analyze the agency's compensation for employees. Provide a rationale on what the costs and benefits would be for a 2 percent, 4 percent, or 5 percent pay increase for the fiscal year 2014. In your forecast, discuss the effects of the increase on benefits for the agency. (Title this section Payroll Forecast.)

2. Review the trend of the agency over the past five years and prepare an analysis explaining the trend for expenditures. (Title this section Trend Analysis.)

3. Prepare and explain a five year forecast of the four highest expenditures. Include in the analysis whether the costs should be approved or not approved. Justify the reasoning with examples. (Title this section Expenditure Forecast.)

4. Compare two options for predicting the cost of needed repairs to the current building that houses the selected agency. Provide a rationale for recommending one of the two options. Include the figures to support the rationale. (Title this section Capital Budget.)

5. Provide names and URLs of the Websites for the state's budget(s) analyzed and any other government Websites used to support the assignment's criteria.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Analyze the basic skills and tools needed for budgeting for public sector agencies and / or departments.

• Recommend appropriate policy actions based on the evaluation.

• Evaluate a budgeting system at any governmental level.

• Analyze the scope and sequence of budgeting in terms of sources of revenues, purpose of government expenditures, budget cycles, budget preparation, and debt administration.

• Analyze the steps required for budgeting, such as preparing a budget, making a financial plan, conducting a cost-benefit analysis, and making budget decisions.

• Prepare a preliminary budgeting system for presentation before Congress, state / local government, or other organization.

• Develop various budget charts that represent segments of the budgeting process.

• Use technology and information resources to research issues in public budgeting and finance.

• Write clearly and concisely about public budgeting and finance using proper writing mechanics.