1. Analyze the overall manner in which the aforementioned budgets support federa
ID: 406611 • Letter: 1
Question
1. Analyze the overall manner in which the aforementioned budgets support federalism and intergovernmental relations. Include two to three (2-3) examples of such support in order to validate your response.
2. A friend who is a city manager once commented that he liked to put a so-called “radio” item within each budget—an item that would make a lot of noise and attract attention but could be “unplugged” easily. He said that after the council had focused all of its attention on that item and it was finally removed, the council would approve everything else with little question. Imagine that you are preparing a budget for presentation to the council. Propose two-to-three (2-3) tactics that you would use in order to attract attention to and distract attention from a particular line item.
Explanation / Answer
1. The revenue sources and budgets are very in are different categories and budgets. However, both support federalism and intergovernmental relations. As, the text states “The term intergovernmental relations is often used to encompass all the complex and interdependent relationships among those at various levels of government as they seek to develop and implement public programs.” The text also states that federalism is the distribution of power in an organization (as a government) between a central authority and the constituent units. Which confirms that these type of revenue sources support federalism through, first, providing a fiscal platform for federalism as a format to establish a financial relationship between federal and state budgets. Secondly, through the curtailment of the levels of federal support for state and local governments. Each entity has its fiscal agenda and level of distribution(s) for the budgets presented. However, the intergovernmental relationship remains necessary from a federalist aspect as both revenue sources are required to fiscally finance the country. Moreover, the federal government is only one component of our Nations fiscal responsibility. States and local governments actually manage a bulk of the programs that the federal government funds. This can make for a complex relationship regarding the definition and purpose of each revenue source and the levels of power governing those sources.
2.
According to (Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings, 2014) looking at the budget for fiscal year 2014 and the difference or change from 2012 in the area of “Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program” this program had a discretionary cut of (-452 thousand dollars). While the program maintained $3 million dollars, it still took on a major cut. According to (Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings, 2015), the program cut another ($625,000 dollars) out of the program. This program amongst many others received cuts but not necessarily because there were no more funds but it could be that the level of politics needed to boost this program from the representative is very low. The relationship could be harmed and not on a team based relationship. There are so many political influences around budgetary processes and which ones get passed; cut or consolidated even the best ones or needed ones often get looked over. According to (Pasmore, 2014), It’s not so much the quality or number of leaders that may determine the organizations success, but the ability of the formal and informal leaders to pull together to support the organizations that makes the difference. Some of the influences of budgets are found in cross functional leadership and what one department does for another or how one department associates with another so in short a large part of the outcome is based on relationships.
The strategies that can be used or deployed in order to influence the budget process according to our text are; Clientele support, confidence and budget padding. Clientele support is the support of client groups and others interested in the agency’s work to where they lobby in behalf of programs. Support from those that believe in your cause and mission, are those that are wanted and needed by the American public to drive change. I believe in this case both parties need to understand the process and benefits of the program, therefore attracting more clients to stimulate the program or even providing cross functional support. Increase clients can only help grow the business. The second strategy is confidence relative to the ability and character of those pushing for the policy. If the administration knows you carry high standards and align with their thinking, this can only build reputation and integrity. While there are many ways to build confidence, integrity and responsiveness, these are the keys to building relationship. Higher executives are so busy, they must empower through trust and integrity. Thirdly, budget padding may be a method utilized to influence the budget. According to our text, this method is somewhat unethical but it’s relative to asking for more than you need to insure if they (legislature) drop the budget you introduced, you would still land on what you originally wanted thus affecting the budget.
References
Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings. (2014). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from The Budget for Fiscal Year 2014 Web site: http://www.usda.gov/documents/cuts-consolidations-savings.pdf
Cuts, Consolidations, and Savings. (2015). Retrieved October 26, 2015, from The Budget for Fiscal Year 2015 Web site: http://www.usda.gov/documents/cuts-consolidations-savings.pdf
Pasmore, W. (2014). Developing a Leadership Strategy. Retrieved October 27, 2015, from http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/LeadershipStrategy.pdf
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