Signature Assignment: Budgeting at the State and Local Levels of Government Paper

Review the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website and review the five critical processes that are used to plan and implement the budget of the executive branch.

Write a 1,750 to 2,100-word paper that addresses each of the following questions and topics:

• Identify and explain three special challenges of budgeting that state and local governments face and describe how these special challenges differ from challenges the federal government faces.
• Summarize the five critical processes used to plan and implement the budget of the executive branch.
• A government’s budget is not simply a collection of agencies’ spending requests. Instead, each government’s executive (whether mayor, city manager, county administrator, governor, or president) sets broad targets for overall spending and revenues. Describe how government executives begin to develop the budget.
• The first step in the budgeting process is to determine the spending and revenue plans that are then combined in a single document. While the details vary around the country, the process typically includes both top-down and bottom-up methods. Compare the differences between these two budgeting methods.
• Although the submission of the executive budget is an important step in the budgeting process, the budget is ultimately only a set of estimates and recommendations. In the American system of government, the executive branch proposes the budget and the legislative branch must approve taxes and spending. Examine the impact of intergovernmental relationships and collaboration on the budget process.
• Once the executive and legislature agree on a budget, the challenge falls to the executive to execute the spending plan. While the importance of this stage of the budgetary process might seem obvious, the budget execution process is a delicate balance between ensuring that a program’s legislative goals are served and providing adequate flexibility for administrators to do their work. Describe what role the legislature plays in the process of budget execution. 

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Include at least three peer-reviewed references from the University Library.