Reference no: EM132378578

CRJS 4402/HUMN 4402: Planning and Budgeting

Discussion: Activity Statements

You are the state representative in your area. The following budget items have been brought to you by state and local agencies requesting fiscal funding. Choose one of the scenarios to support by developing an argument for the expenditure. Keep in mind that you are trying to convince the public to pay for the expenditure through increased taxes or fees. You should also consider environmental factors in your argument (politics, laws, etc.) and ethical behaviors.

1. The juvenile detention center in a rural area of the state is requesting $1.2 million to build a new, more modern juvenile detention center. The current center is 24 years old and houses 50 delinquents. The building is in good shape and there have been few safety concerns or escapes with the current building design. The new center would be able to house 100 delinquents and would need additional staffing and increased expenses in the fiscal budget of the juvenile office in future years. Land for the center to be built on would have to be identified as well.

2. A city police department is requesting $275,000 to purchase 8 new Mustangs to use in police patrol. The department currently uses Crown Victoria cars for patrol. These work well and are in decent shape with little maintenance required each year. The current patrol vehicles have mileage rates from 100,000 to 165,000. The purchase of 8 vehicles would replace 40% of the patrol vehicles owned by the department. It is common to replace vehicles at the police department every 3-5 years on a rotating basis with the local sheriff's department. The last replacement at the city police department occurred 3 years ago and the county paid for the majority of those. The county commissioners are claiming this year that all capital requests must be paid through the state because of budget woes in the area.

3. The circuit judge in the state capital is requesting $87,120 to pay for yearly gym memberships for local employees of the police department, adult and juvenile courts, jail and juvenile detention centers, and adult and juvenile probation officers. The memberships would fund 242 people for monthly access to the local gym for fitness classes and individual workouts. The local gym has agreed to discount the monthly membership from $45.00 to $30.00 for these city employees. The sheriff's department was excluded from the request as well as other city employees. The local gym has agreed to offer a 10% discount to other city employees interested in a gym membership. They would have to pay the discounted fees themselves.

4. The state prison system is requesting $2.7 million each fiscal budget year for the next 5 years to pay for college courses for inmates serving sentences of more than 1 year but less than 5 years at minimum security facilities. The courses would be offered online. Each facility would hire two teachers to assist inmates with coursework and issues with technology. The inmates would sign an agreement to participate, to refrain from re-arrest upon release, and to work with a placement program upon release from prison to find employment related to the degree completed. It is estimated that 540 of the 14,786 inmates incarcerated could take courses each year.

Controversy and money often go hand-in-hand, and when paired with public dollars and budgets, the topic becomes even more complicated. Despite controversy, there are times that it is necessary to fund a project or service that may not be politically or publically popular. Identifying and justifying controversial budget issues are useful skills in any role where you may be responsible for a budget. Is the decision to fund a project ultimately for the public good? Did the choice to spend money in one area over another become the lesser of evils? Is the spending necessary due to laws or regulations to provide funds for something for which it is difficult to be sympathetic? As resources become scarce, it becomes even more challenging to justify a controversial project, and yet managers and administrators are asked to do this as a regular part of their job. The ability to be convincing and create a strong and favorable argument in support of a controversial project may be one skill that will keep you on the job and make you an invaluable team member.

To prepare for this Discussion:

Review the article "Experience, Attitudes, and Willingness to Pay for Public Safety" and consider how public attitudes and experience with public services influence the public''s willingness to fund them.

Review the "Activity Statements" document located in the Learning Resources and consider the various types of expenditures that might be viewed as controversial.

Select one controversial expenditure from the "Activity Statements" document to use in this Discussion.

Think about an argument you might develop to convince the voting public to add this expenditure to the state budget.
With these thoughts in mind:

Post a brief description of the controversial expenditure you selected. Then develop an argument to convince the voting public to add this expenditure to the state budget.

Required readings
Alexander, J. (1999). A new ethics of the budgetary process. Administration & Society, 31(4), 542-565.

Donahue, A. K., & Miller, J. M. (2006). Experience, attitudes, and willingness to pay for public safety. The American Review of Public Administration, 36(4), 395-4 18.

Smith, R. W. (2003). Corporate ethics officers and government ethics administrators: Comparing apples with oranges or a lesson to be learned? Administration & Society, 34(6), 632-6 52.