Memos to the Governor

An Introduction to State Budgeting, Third Edition

Dall W. Forsythe, Donald J. Boyd

• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781589019249
• eBook ISBN: 9781589019256
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Public Affairs & Administration
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This revised and updated edition of Memos to the Governor is a concise and highly readable guidebook that explains in clear, understandable prose the technical, economic, and political dynamics of budget making. Updated with many new examples of budget quandaries from recent years, this book helps current and future public administrators untangle the knotty processes of budget preparation and implementation.

Authors Dall W. Forsythe and Donald J. Boyd outline the budgeting process through a series of memos from a budget director to a newly elected governor—a format that helps readers with little or no background understand complicated financial issues. They cover all of the steps of budget preparation, from strategy to execution, explaining technical vocabulary, and discussing key topics including baseline budgeting, revenue forecasting, and gap-closing options.

Forsythe and Boyd bring fresh insights into such issues as the importance of a multiyear strategic budget plan, the impact of the business cycle on state budgets, the tactical problems of getting budgets adopted by legislatures, and, of course, the relationship between governor and budget officer. Memos to the Governor is a painless, practical introduction to budget preparation for students of and practitioners in public administration and public-sector financial management.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword to the Second Edition
• Preface
• Introduction
• MEMO 1: You and Your Budget Officer
• MEMO 2: Budget Strategy
• MEMO 3: Preparing the Executive Budget—The Technical Underpinnings
• MEMO 4: Choices in the Final Phase of Budget Preparation
• MEMO 5: Budget Tactics: Laying the Groundwork for Adoption
• MEMO 6: Going Public with the Budget
• MEMO 7: The Legislative Phase of the Budget Process
• MEMO 8: Budget Execution
• A Final Word on Strategy and Tactics
• Appendix: Budget Vocabulary
• Index