Week 4: Budgeting as Policy Making

1. Week 4: Budgeting as Policy Making • Discuss memo #2 and selection of agency/department • What is policy making in the context of budgets? • Application of Kingdon model of policy making to budgeting (Thurmaier and Willoughby) • Role of state budget offices • Budget and policy making in local government • Guest Speaker -- Cheryl Stewart, Department of Finance • Life in DOF and their role in policy making • Preview of Week 5

2. Policy Making and Budgets • How are the authors for this week’s readings defining the word “policy” in the context of budgeting? • What are example of non-policy budget decisions?

3. The Kingdon Model of Policy-making • Purpose: • how do issues rise and fall on the agenda? • how do agendas translate into policy? • how can non-incremental change be explained? • Key feature: distinction between agendas (problems) and alternatives (policies) • different processes • different participants and roles • Major challenge to linear models of policy making!

4. The Kingdon Model: Components • Three streams or processes • problems (agendas) • policies (alternatives, solutions) • politics • Two types of participants • visible cluster (dominate agenda and political streams) • hidden cluster (dominate policy stream) • Window of Opportunity • predictable, e.g. elections, budget process • unpredictable, e.g. natural disaster

5. Kingdon Model: Policy Change • Three streams must converge • Being on agenda is necessary but not sufficient • need solutions and ripe political conditions • Role of the policy specialists • form communities and work on alternatives • look for opportunities to match to problems • policy entrerpreneurs • bring the solutions together with problems • importance of framing

6. Kingdon Model Applied to Budgeting:Thurmaier and Willoughby • key concept: understanding budget problems as policy problems • not a question of economic efficiency but values • allows application of Kingdon • how do budget issues get on the agenda? • how does budget policy get made? • State Budget Offices play a key role • gatekeepers • how do they make decisions? (micro model)

7. Different State Budget Office Orientations • Control orientation • Compile agency requests • Don’t question policy orientation • Budget execution emphasis • Far removed from Governor’s policy staff • Policy orientation • Analyze agency proposals against Governor’s policy • Develop alternatives • Proactive on major policy/budget issues • Focus on agency mission and effectiveness • Closer involvement with Governor’s policy staff

8. Policy-oriented Budget Offices and Policy Change • Budget analysts are like Kingdon’s policy entrepreneurs • nexus of macro and micro budgeting • manage top down and bottom up information flow • bring together problems, solutions, politics • part of “hidden” cluster of actors (institutional memory) • two major deadlines provide windows • Skills used • efficiency analysis: technical/economic • effectiveness analysis: political, social, legal

9. Bland and Rubin: Local Budgeting Discussion question: Bland and Rubin argue that failure to openly deliberate the policy issues behind budget decisions impedes progress and is undemocratic. • Discuss both charges (impede progress and undemocratic) • Are they suggesting, in contrast to Thurmaier and Willoughby, that delegating the majority of levels 1 and 2 budget decisions to budget staff is undemocratic? 3. Is there a reason that local and state processes should differ in this respect?

10. Local Budgeting (v State) • More constrained—less discretionary • Less political executive influence • More managerial/staff-driven • city manager drives budget • mayor policy positions not very public • More expectation for direct citizen access and participation • More or less ideological?

11. Preview of Week 5 • Kettl -- excellent and very readable • Think about “rationality” • what does it mean? • can/should budgeting be rational? • Weekly email question • Memo #2 due: need to decide on agency or department for class assignments