How BFO Works
Turning the Traditional Budget Process on its Head
"The usual, political way to handle a projected deficit
is to take last year's budget and cut. It is like taking last
year's family car and reducing its weight with a blowtorch
and shears. But cutting $2 billion from this vehicle does
not make it a compact; it makes it a wreck. What is wanted
is a budget designed from the ground up."
Seattle Times editorial, Nov. 17,
2002 on
Washington state’s use of a BFO process.
In BFO, last year's budget is not the starting point
for incremental cuts and additions in the following year,
so a new budget -- based on results citizens want -- is designed
from the ground up. The BFO budget-building process includes
these four steps:
- Determine the Price of Government (How much revenue will
be available?)
- Determine the Priorities of Government (What results matter
most to our citizens?)
- Decide the Price for Each Priority Result (How much should
we spend to achieve each result?)
- Decide How Best to Deliver Each Priority Result at the
Set Price (How can we BEST deliver the results that citizens
expect?)
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