Scenario for Assignments

For Assignments, 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: Presenting the Budget

Refer the Scenario for Assignments. Prepare the financial plan and budget justification proposal.

The agency is contracted to work with New York City on several capital projects. To proceed with negotiations, an analysis of the city's financial documents must be considered. Review the New York City Financial Plan, located at http://www.nyc.gov/html/omb/downloads/pdf/fp6_12.pdf, to answer questions listed. (Title this section "New York City Financial Plan")

1. Answer Question 1 based on the review of the New York City Financial Plan: Are total revenues growing faster or more slowly than expenditures? Show the annual growth rates for revenues and expenditures in a table.

2. Answer Question 2 based on the review of the New York City Financial Plan: What is New York City's fastest-growing category of expenditures during the planning period? Justify the answer with examples.

3. Answer Question 3 based on the review of the New York City Financial Plan: What percentage of New York City revenue comes from the general property tax? How much is this tax growing in each year of the financial plan? Justify the answer with examples.

4. Prepare a budget to support the proposal to partner with New York City to offer a job training program housed within the NYC Department of Social Services. (Title this section "Budget Justification Proposal.") (Note: The agency has decided to partner with New York City.)

a) The agency proposes $500,000 over a three year period beginning FY2013 to be included in the State Categorical Grants for the Department of Social Services to provide hands-on job training workshops in office administration, security, construction, and apartment maintenance.

b) Use Figure 7.2, Budget Justification, in Chapter 7 (pages 114-115) as an example.

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.
• Examine the key components for presenting and justifying the budget to decision makers.
• 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.