Integrating Zero Based Budgeting Into a Results Focused Culture

About the Program

Category: Financial Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The request by an elected official to incorporate Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) presented Maricopa County with a problem. Currently, the County has a formal budget process completely integrated with a number of highly modified software packages. Elected officials and the Executive Team thought ZBB would present an opportunity to delve deeper into operations to increase efficiencies brought forth during previous cycles. The program addressed technical hurdles and continued fallout from the Great Recession. Hard costs were minimal. Results and successes were many and included savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. More important was refining the budget process to incorporate requests from County officials so that they may accomplish the strategic mission of their departments. This application highlights the efforts of many during two sequential budget seasons to formalize a specific ZBB business process that looks to the future.