In Phase III, departments are responsible for analyzing and projecting budget needs for their units and performing several other steps, including the following:
Re-examining their unit’s mission and performance Costing out plans for addressing strategic impact issues, where applicable to that agency’s services Developing requests for “change orders” (e.g. new or expanded programs) and aligning them to the Board’s Three Year Strategic Emphasis Adjusting any revenue estimates Realigning existing resources within the approved current service level budget, if needed, and Analyzing the need for any additional technology, capital, capital maintenance, or vehicle needs and submitting any requests through the appropriate reserve process.
At the end of phase III, each agency develops a requested budget, which is packaged and presented to SOI and the Executive Team. The agency’s budget ties together its plan and resource needs for service delivery for the upcoming year and includes analysis of trends and concerns, and descriptions of major accomplishments, in addition to all budget requests. The review process, which takes place in March and April, is driven by the Budget Executive Team (BET); however, many groups participate in the process including, general managers, SOI staff, Focus Area Leadership Team members and agency staff. Discussions during this process are focused on service level funding adjustments, current year’s accomplishments, re-engineering efforts and performance results. As a result of these discussions, each service request may be revised. This year, the BET used the following key principles in their deliberations: • •
• • •
Take a long term view. When feasible, we want to maintain the progress we have made toward the Board’s long-term scorecard goals. Focus on Core Mission and Priorities. We must be thoughtful in our reduction management. We should maintain a portfolio of high-performing, high-priority services rather than make cuts that weaken services throughout the organization. Retain jobs and employees when possible. We should maintain organizational capacity to meet growing service demands, and avoid contributing to growing unemployment locally. Make Data-Driven Decisions. Funding decisions should be based on data/analytical evidence of service priority, need, and performance. Communicate and involve stakeholders. Funding choices and consequences should be transparent to Mecklenburg residents, businesses and County employees. Now, more than ever, we need to draw on ideas and support within the community and County government, and manage expectations about the availability of funds and services.
Phase IV consists of the development of a recommended budget. The budget serves four basic functions for the Board of County Commissioners and residents of Mecklenburg County.
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