Week 15: Ethics, Wrap Up, Student Presentations

1. Week 15: Ethics, Wrap Up, Student Presentations • Ethics -- public sector • Ethical issues in public budgeting and finance • Revisit course goals • Begin student presentations

2. Ethics: Definition • Systematic thinking about morals and conduct • Making judgments about right and wrong • Choosing between legitimate but competing values • In public sector: • from thought to action and consequences • discretion by un-elected public managers

3. Ethical Philosophy • right v right (value conflicts) • individual v community • short-term v long-term • truth v loyalty • justice v mercy • theories of moral philosophy • utilitarian – ends-based • rule-based (Kant) • care-based

4. Framework for Public Sector Ethics • Competing roles and loyalties: • personal • professional • organizational • public interest • ASPA Code of Ethics • reflects new public management • not much help with role conflicts

5. Changing Public Sector Ethics • Traditional view of ethics (roots in business world): • “low road” of compliance -- stay out of trouble • neutrality/efficiency/rules • prevention of fraud, waste, abuse • means-based approach • Contemporary view of ethics • “high road” of moral reasoning, integrity, justice, leadership • ethics of value, not of neutrality • integrity/moral reasoning/leadership/justice • accomplishment of public good • Results-oriented government ==> ends-based ethics • Responsible use of increased administrative discretion

6. Ethics Applied to Public Budgeting • Old budgetary ethics • limited discretion • line item accountability • focus on allowable uses of funds • New budgetary ethics • discretion on use of funds to meet goals • program control, not line-item • accountability for accomplishments

7. Ethical Issues in Public Budgeting • Budgeting as political • who benefits/who pays from public budgeting decisions • political leadership for the public interest • Budgeting as technical • budget experts can withhold or frame information • gimmicks and fixes • Budget process • playing the budget game • use (abuse) of data in budget justifications • advocacy for program v loyalty to executive budget

8. Ethical Issues in Public Finance • Estimating revenues • Choosing optimistic v pessimistic scenarios • Withholding information on available reserves • Impact of finance policies • Short-term v long-term impacts • Political expediency to gain passage (features or gimmicks that aren’t fiscally sound) • User taxes to replace general purpose revenues

9. Ethical Issues in Budget Implementation • Budget analysis • tactics to delay implementation of programs • Budget management • using funds for different purposes than budgeted • circumvent budget controls to accomplish desired outcomes • Accountability • setting goals and objectives—who is involved? • accountability for results – how much discretion? • ethical issues in performance reporting

10. Discussion Questions • Does unethical behavior in public servants occur because they are inherently unethical or because unethical behavior is rewarded? • How can “high road” focus on accomplishments be a guide when there is no consensus on desired public outcomes? • Is “public trust deficit” best addressed by low-road ethical focus, rather than promoting administrative discretion?

11. Course Goals Revisited • Understand political context of budgeting at federal, state, local levels • Develop working knowledge of California budget process, concepts, terminology • Learn some basic skills in budget development, analysis • Understand role of budgets within life of an agency • Understand budgets as tools of accountability • Develop some basic skills in selection and use of performance measures in context of budgeting • Improve applied (memo) writing skills