--> Dear Members of City Council and Residents of Boulder,
I am pleased to present to
you the City Manager’s 2014 Recommended Budget for review and consideration.
This budget was developed in accordance with the City Charter, city financial
management policies and guidelines, and City Council's adopted goals. This
budget continues to recognize the national economic conditions that demand
conservative approaches to managing expenses, while providing a balance between
maintaining existing high-quality programs, services and infrastructure, and
funding enhancements and new initiatives, to best meet the priorities of the
Boulder community.
The budget is a financial
document that defines the fiscal parameters of the coming year. It is a guide
to allocation of resources in support of community goals, and it is a tool for
strategic alignment of short-and long-term financial objectives. As a part of
the process for building the 2014 Recommended Budget, city staff took a multi-year
strategic approach, as well as applying the principles of Priority Based
Budgeting. The result of this approach was a focus on strengthening core city
services and operations, such as public safety and facility maintenance, as well
as providing funding for key council initiatives and investing in the future.
City Manager, Boulder Colorado 2014 Annual Budget Message
"Now integrated into
its fourth consecutive year of budget development, Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) is the framework within
which all budget decisions are made." City of Boulder 2014 Annual Budget Policy Document
The Center for Priority Based Budgeting has proudly partnered with the City of Boulder in implementing priority based budgeting (PBB) into their annual budget process for the last four years. The City adopted priority based budgeting in 2010. During this time, the City has become a "leading practitioner" of priority based budgeting and utilizes this process in all of their short and long-term financial decisions. Read more about Boulder's success implementing PBB and their Resource Reallocation Breakthrough here.
The City of Boulder, Colorado recently published their 2014 Annual Budget. This comprehensive policy document contains a detailed description of how the city plans to invest available resources in city operations in 2014. One of the eight main sections of the budget document is Strategy and Priorities. This section provides an in-depth look in how the city utilizes priority based budgeting for short-term and long-term budgeting and strategic economic planning. The following is an excerpt from this section.
Priority Based Budgeting
Purpose of Priority
Based Budgeting
Priority Based
Budgeting (PBB) builds on the city’s prior Business Plan, which separates goals
and actions into near term versus long term time frames. PBB harnesses the
policies and values of the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan and department
strategic and master plans. As the cornerstone of the city’s budget process,
PBB gives the city three central benefits:
- Identifies key Council and community goals (see the next section on PBB Results and Attributes)
- Evaluates the impact on these goals of city programs and services
- Provides a tool for strategic decision-making in funding, adding and/or eliminating programs and services, making more effective use of the city’s limited resources.
PBB contributes to
the city’s long-term financial sustainability and allows the city of Boulder to
serve its residents in the most effective, efficient and fiscally responsible
manner possible.
2014 Priority Based Budgeting Outcomes
Now integrated into
its fourth consecutive year of budget development, PBB is the framework within
which all budget decisions are made. In the 2014 budget process, the city was
asked to use PBB in every step of the budget process and program ranking by
quartile was included in all budget discussions throughout the year. To
maintain value and consistency in program scoring, a Peer Review Group, a
citywide team who comes together to score PBB programs and services annually,
reviewed all changes between 2013 and 2014.
The city has a
favorable distribution of resources between the highest priority (Quartile 1)
and lowest priority (Quartile 4) programs. Fewer resources are invested in
programs yielding lower impact on community values. A listing of all 2014
programs by quartile is included in the following section. Community programs
are those providing direct service to residents and businesses, while governance
programs are those providing support services within the city to other
departments.
Due to a number of
factors, including only modest revenue increase projections, with ongoing cost
increases, there was limited opportunity to add resources to city programs in
the 2014 budget. The 2014 budget process included identification of resources
for reallocation and PBB was a tool used to help shift resources from lower to
higher priority programs.
To better understand how the City of Boulder utilizes priority based budgeting as the "framework in which all budget decisions are made," click here!
Congratulations again to the City of Boulder, Colorado! You remain a true priority based budgeting all-star and a leading PBB practitioner in local government fiscal stewardship!
For more innovative priority based budgeting resources see links below:
Priority Based Budgeting: Through the Lens of a Master's Thesis
Strong Municipal Bond Ratings Propelled by Priority Based Budgeting
A Dazzling Portrait of the Power of Priority Based Budgeting
If you're thinking of jumping into the world of Fiscal Health and Wellness through Priority Based Budgeting we would certainly like to be part of your efforts! Contact us to schedule a free webinar and identify the best CPBB service option(s) to meet your organization's particular needs.
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