Public Administration Budget Assessment

In need of an 8-10pg paper.  See topic and detailed requirements below.  Please Use the City of Palm Springs as your municipality for this paper.  Website: www.palmspringsca.gov.  All public information regarding budgets and assessments should be readily available.  If there is any lacking information please email me and I will get you any pertinent details and information you need.  This paper is due October 28, 2017. 

Budgets are intended to address a number of different theoretical and  practical purposes including management and control, communication to  different constituencies, goals, past successes, philosophy of the  public entity, and to explain the functions of the various departments,  etc. Also, public administration professionals must be able to analyze  the financial health of an entity by examining the budget.

In an eight to ten page paper (not including the title and reference  pages), assess how well available budget documents and auxiliary  information address each of these functions on the municipal budget of  your choice. The assessment needs to be supported with examples and  information from the documents studied.

Focus of the Final Paper

In your budget assessment, you must complete the following prompts for the municipality of your choice:

Budget Structure:

• Explain whether or not the budget message presented an adequate  overview of the entity and its financial position. Support your  position.
• Determine if there are separate capital budget and capital  improvement programs. If so, assesses what the budget tells you about  the entity’s immediate and long range plans for development.

Service Area (or Program):

• Identify what service area (or program) accounts for the greatest percentage of the operating budget.
• Discusses if the budget provides information suggesting why this service area is the largest.
• Identify what category of expenditure (e.g., personnel, supplies)  accounts for the greatest percentage of the service area’s budget for  that service area.

Funds in Operation:

• Determine how many funds the entity operates.
• Explain how these funds differ in terms of the sources of revenue.
• Assesses the fund balance for the General Fund and the various enterprise funds.
• Conclude whether the funds have been growing or contracting and whether or not the funds are adequate. Support your findings.

Financial Analysis:

• Describes and analyzes the indications of both financial health and  financial dangers of the entity contained within the documents reviewed  and what those indicators tell us.

You may use a variety of resources for this project and should cite a  minimum of 3 resources. You will want to start with the most recent  year’s approved budget. You may use accounting reports for information;  however, you will want to base your budget figures off of the budget  book, as accounting detail does not provide the line items for expenses  such as personnel, ERE, supplies, and travel. You may also use  department website information, other reports, laws/rules, a  recommendation book if available may provide additional detail,  interviews with city/department staff, or other relevant sources.  

Please Use the City of Palm Springs as your municipality for this paper.  Website: www.palmspringsca.gov 

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:

• Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length, and formatted  according to APA style. 
• Must include a title page with the following:  
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
• Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
• Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
• Must use at least three scholarly sources.
• Must document all sources in APA style.
• Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style