This is a class term project please follow directions carefully.  You will be using budget from Miami-Dade County. Please read the directions carefully and do the present budget. https://www.miamidade.gov/budget/ Public Sector Budgeting (PAD 6227) Budget Analysis Project Fall 2018 A. Assignment Each student will analyze the budget and budgetary trends for a local government (city or county government). The paper will be formatted as follows: 1. Overview and budget process and format 2. Expenditure and revenue trends 3. Conclusion and Recommendation Below are the due dates for the components of the project: 1. Selection of government: October 28 ( Canvas message notification to the instructor ) 2. Draft of the first section ( overview and budget process/format section ): November 4 3. Draft of the second section ( expenditure and revenue trends section ): November 18 4. Final paper: December 9 The primary source of data will be the budget of the government that you are analyzing. You may be able to get copies of these from the government. Many governments now also have budget documents posted on their Web site. You may also want to review Census data for socio-demographic information about the area. Finally, you might search newspaper indexes to find information on major recent budget issues.  If you work with one or two partners, you may divide the project up in a number of different ways. Generally, all of you will receive the same grade for the project. However, it is possible that grades will vary if one member has not performed adequately, or if one student’s performance is exemplary.  There is no “cookie-cutter” approach to this project. Each government is different, so the focus of the analyses will vary somewhat. The following sections are intended to provide guidelines for you to consider, but your paper may be quite different from this. You are expected to organize the report in the manner best suited to the entity you are studying.  B. Overview and Budget Process/Format The paper should be written as if you were briefing a new budget director for this government. The new director is moving here from another part of the country, and knows very little about the area or the budget issues. This section should first include a brief overview of the state or locality, including factors/trends that may affect the budget (e.g., location, population, income levels, primary types of employment, etc.) This section should also address the budget process and the format of the budget. You may include the following, for example: 1. Is the budget annual or biannual? 2. What is the fiscal year? 3. Brief description of the process 4. Form of government (e.g., a city could be operated by a council-manager, mayor-council, or commission form) 5. Elected officials (number and term of legislators, executive) 6. Do citizens appear to play any role in the budget process? 7. What budget format is used? 8. Does the executive ...

1. This is a class term project please follow directions carefully.
You will be using budget from Miami-Dade County. Please read
the directions carefully and do the present budget.
https://www.miamidade.gov/budget/
Public Sector Budgeting (PAD 6227)
Budget Analysis Project
Fall 2018
A. Assignment
Each student will analyze the budget and budgetary trends for a
local government (city or county government). The paper will
be formatted as follows:
1. Overview and budget process and format
2. Expenditure and revenue trends
3. Conclusion and Recommendation
Below are the due dates for the components of the project:
1. Selection of government: October 28 (
Canvas message notification to the instructor

2. )
2. Draft of the first section (
overview and budget process/format section
): November 4
3. Draft of the second section (
expenditure and revenue trends section
): November 18
4. Final paper: December 9
The primary source of data will be the budget of the government
that you are analyzing. You may be able to get copies of these
from the government. Many governments now also have budget
documents posted on their Web site. You may also want to
review Census data for socio-demographic information about
the area. Finally, you might search newspaper indexes to find
information on major recent budget issues.
If you work with one or two partners, you may divide the
project up in a number of different ways. Generally, all of you
will receive the same grade for the project. However, it is
possible that grades will vary if one member has not performed
adequately, or if one student’s performance is exemplary.
There is no “cookie-cutter” approach to this project. Each
government is different, so the focus of the analyses will vary
somewhat. The following sections are intended to provide
guidelines for you to consider, but your paper may be quite
different from this. You are expected to organize the report in
the manner best suited to the entity you are studying.
B. Overview and Budget Process/Format
The paper should be written as if you were briefing a new

3. budget director for this government. The new director is moving
here from another part of the country, and knows very little
about the area or the budget issues. This section should first
include a brief overview of the state or locality, including
factors/trends that may affect the budget (e.g., location,
population, income levels, primary types of employment, etc.)
This section should also address the budget process and the
format of the budget. You may include the following, for
example:
1. Is the budget annual or biannual?
2. What is the fiscal year?
3. Brief description of the process
4. Form of government (e.g., a city could be operated by a
council-manager, mayor-council, or commission form)
5. Elected officials (number and term of legislators, executive)
6. Do citizens appear to play any role in the budget process?
7. What budget format is used?
8. Does the executive (e.g., Mayor or Governor) have veto
authority?
9. Does the budget include performance information? If so, does
it appear to be primarily related to workload/activities, or
results/outcomes?
10. Does the budget include forecasts for future years, and/or
data for prior years?

4. 11. To what extent do you find the budget document to be a
readable communication tool?
12. What type of budget information, if any, is included on the
government’s web site?
C. Expenditure and Revenue Trends
This section will analyze major sources of expenditures and
revenues, as well as trends over time. For trends, use the most
current budget year available as well as one prior year (most
budgets will include data for at least one or two prior years; it
will probably be most interesting to use the oldest year and the
most recent year for comparison). For the “older” comparison
year, you can use either actual or budgeted revenues and
expenditures.
Use tables or graphs to help display key information. You
should have at least one table for expenditures and one table for
revenues, using the same format as the first homework
assignment. Some jurisdictions may have a large number of
departments and/or revenue sources, so it may be helpful to
aggregate some data in your tables (for example, in an
expenditure table, you could list the largest departments, then
combine the other departments into an “other” category). You
may want to show the breakdown of expenditures in different
ways, such as the following example:
Table 1
City of Somewhere

5. 2014-2015 Expenditures
2014 Actual
2015 Budget
Change
Amount
% of Total
Amount
% of Total
$ Change
% Change
Expenditures by Department

6. Personnel
Executive
Public Safety

7. Other Depts.
Total
Exp. By Fund

8. General
Utilities
Roads
Total

9. Exp. By Category
Personnel

10. Equipment
Other Non-Personnel
Capital
Total

11. Following are the major questions you should answer regarding
expenditures:
1. What is the total expenditure budget?
a. It is often helpful to relate this to something else to give the
reader some perspective – e.g., how much is this per capita
(total budget divided by population)?
2. Where does the money go?
a. Which are the largest departments/activities?
b. Which are the largest funds? (this will require breaking down
the total budget by fund).
3. What are the major sources of growth or decline over this
period?
a. If the budget has increased by $10 million over the past two
years, you should be able to explain where most of the
increased expenditures have occurred (your tables will tell you
which areas have experienced the most change; the message at
the beginning of the budget, or detailed discussion within the
budget document, may help explain the reasons for the change).
These are the general questions regarding the revenue structure
and trends:
1. Where does the money come from?
a. What are the primary sources of revenue? (e.g., property tax,
sales tax, etc.)

12. b. See the note above about aggregating revenue sources in the
table if necessary
2. How much have total revenues changed over this period?
3. Which revenue sources have experienced the most change
over this period? To the extent possible, attempt to explain why
the changes occurred.
4. For major tax sources, try to provide detail on the tax rates,
and any pertinent changes in the tax base or rate over the period
studied.
D. Conclusion and Recommendation
This section should draw conclusions about the overall fiscal
health and future outlook for this government, based on your
analysis. Do they appear to be in good shape? Is there structural
balance between revenues and expenditures? If they are
experiencing fiscal stress, how have they responded to it (e.g.,
service level reductions, increased tax rates and/or user fees,
etc.)? What are the major issues facing this organization in the
near future? What effects has the recession had, and/or what
difficulties might it present soon? What are the key things the
new budget director needs to know?
E. General Notes for the Analysis
1. In your analysis, start with the numbers. Prepare the tables
before you begin writing the narrative about revenue and
expenditure trends. The text should follow from the tables.
2. Look at the BIG PICTURE! Do not spend time discussing a
change in a department that is only 1% of the budget.

13. 3. Document what you say with supporting numbers. For
example, do NOT say, “the budget has grown a lot,” DO say,
“the budget has grown 5% over this period.”
4. Do not force the reader to look at and interpret the tables and
charts. You need to tell the reader the key points from the table.
One way to do this is to pretend that you will not be including
the table in the paper, so you have to write as if it will not be
there. The tables are there only as additional information, to
support your statements and analysis.
5. Label and title your tables and charts.
6. Include totals in your tables.
7. Think about what the numbers show. Do your conclusions
seem logical? If not, verify that the data and formulas in your
spreadsheets are correct.