Budgeting for Results Budget Balancing Initiative

About the Program

Category: Financial Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

In January, 2008, Maricopa County staff recognized the early signs of what is now recognized as the most significant economic downturn in U.S. history since the Great Depression. Maricopa County, the 4th largest county in the nation and the beneficiary of decades’ worth of unprecedented growth preceding the recession, had no budget balancing alternatives besides deep and sustainable spending cuts. With approximately 95% of its General Fund revenue supporting mandated public services, there were no “nice-to-have’s” that could be cut easily, much less make up the $115 million void Maricopa County faced in fiscal year 2009, alone. Across-the-board budget reductions were not a plausible solution, as demands for some services were declining while demands for others were skyrocketing. Ultimately, Maricopa County chose to weather the recession using the same tool it had employed to wisely spend new monies in years of financial growth: Managing for Results. What resulted was a far leaner, more efficient organization focused on innovation, collaboration, technology and, most importantly, delivering results to its citizenry.