Funding the services citizens want Polk county's BFO process.

• Author: Mcaskill, Fran
• Position: Aisle 5: Safety Economic Development Good Government

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When Polk County, Florida, was creating its budget for fiscal 2008, it faced a serious challenge in the form of property tax reform. At the time, the county didn't know that the combination of Florida property tax reform--which resulted in a structural change to the way counties receive ad valorem revenue--and economic reductions in property value would make the next five budget cycles very difficult for Polk County, and for all Florida local governments. The result has been a reduction of approximately $78 million in Polk County's budgeted ad valorem revenue from fiscal 2006 through fiscal 2010. With an additional loss of $11 million for fiscal year 2011, Polk County's property tax revenue has decreased by 35 percent.

Polk County management was already considering a process that would focus budget expenditures on citizen's expectations, even before the recession started. The county's primary goal was to focus its budgeting process on the programs and services provided to citizens. This would allow management to avoid line-item and across-the-board cuts, which assume that all programs are equally important. To find out what citizens wanted, the county began involving them in the process.

DETERMINING PRIORITIES

A county commissioner learned about Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) at a governing conference several years ago. (1) Its philosophy is to base the priori ties of government on what citizens value, and to provide the results at a price citizens are willing to pay. Polk County hired a consultant to help it strategize and implement this innovative budgeting concept. The county's BFO process included research to learn what citizens expected and to determine how the county could meet citizens' highest priorities with the revenue available.

While Polk County already had a number of ways of getting information from its citizens, these methods were not adequate for BFO. The first step in the new process, then, was holding focus groups in each of five county districts to determine what results or outcomes citizens expect from their government. The consultant led these meetings without any government officials present.

Focus groups identified seven results or outcomes they believed the community expected from county government. They were:

1. Safety. Citizens want to feel safe from crime, fire, and the effects of emergencies and natural disasters.

2. Economic Development. Citizens want well-paying jobs and business...