Get out the red tax caps and the over-sized pledge forms . . . and say it with me . . . “Zero-based budgeting” . . . and department cuts every year.
“Budgeting for Innovation”
MADISON – Zach Brandon called for a new approach to budgeting today as he unveiled the second in his series of radical ideas in his campaign for Dane County Executive.
“Like many Dane County taxpayers, I paid my property tax bill today,” Brandon said. “For a lot of Dane County residents, this tax bill is one of the only regular contacts they have with county government, and that tax bill is driven in part by the county’s annual budget.”
Brandon continued, “We owe it to Dane County’s taxpayers to have a budget process that not only strives to maintain the quality of life we all enjoy here, but also encourages innovation and creativity in how we deliver services.”
“Our current budgeting process stifles innovation instead of encouraging it,” said Brandon, who as a Madison alder built a reputation as a taxpayer advocate and budget watchdog. “We need to budget instead for innovation.”
Radical Idea #2: Budget for Innovation
Currently, county departments and contracted agencies submit their annual budget requests that build only on the cost to continue. This leads to budgeting with an eye only on maintaining the status quo.
Departments have no incentive to come up with bold ideas for improving the way they operate, because new ideas are rarely funded. Instead, departments and agencies repeat what they have always done in hopes of protecting the same funds they received for current programs in previous years.
Using a modified Zero-Based Budgeting framework, agencies will be rewarded for budgeting in a way that is creative, outcome-driven and innovative. Agencies will be given a budget estimate for the coming fiscal year that is based on a reduced percentage of approved expenditures for the current fiscal year. Existing core services would be maintained, but managers would be under pressure to improve efficiencies.
Remaining funds would then be pooled and set aside in a competitive “Innovation Fund” to finance bold new programs, projects or activities.
Annual goals for those competitive funds will be set each year, and program ideas would be judged against those goals. Funding will be subject to a programmatic sunset after five years to ensure innovation and protect against complacency.
Unlike traditional Zero-Based Budgeting, managers would not be required to engage in a time-consuming exercise of analyzing and estimating costs for core functions or fixed costs. Instead, incentives would be provided to increase efficiency and unleash the creativity and innovation of county staff and contracted agencies.
“This is a win-win-win,” Brandon said. “By budgeting for innovation, county managers and staff, who have the necessary knowledge and expertise, will have an incentive to come up with bold new ideas and programs that work, all without additional cost to taxpayers.”
Brandon unveiled his first radical idea – to streamline regional planning so that land-use and transportation decisions are not made independently – on Dec. 20. Brandon has pledged to release at least two radical ideas each month of the campaign.
