GFOA

Organizations benefit from decision architecture. Budget officers can be the decision architects of local governments by building on four job responsibilities that allow them to reduce the impact of well-known problems of bias and noise in human decision processes. Listen to learn more.

“Power politics” is the use of power for selfish gain at the expense of broader community. This is incompatible with the purpose of local government budgeting. However, the finance officer can “change the game” and redirect the energy of power politics to more constructive ends. Listen to this research to learn how.

Reality is complex; mental models simplify it. A mental model is a tool that helps us make sense of the world and manage complexity and large amounts of information. For example, in public finance, thinking of reserves or rainy-day funds as a government’s savings account is a mental model. This approach simplifies the complex idea of fund balances by comparing it to something familiar from everyday life.

This report will explain how you can use mental models to enhance understanding and decision-making in public finance.

The City of Arlington, Texas, created videos to make public finance easy to understand. They used themes like “Build, Unite, Create,” comparing budgeting to a Lego set, and “Budget Bites,” which was styled like a cooking show. Arlington’s approach serves as a model for other cities looking to improve their budget communications.

Many budget officers have had an experience like the following during budget deliberations with the governing board: The governing board spends what seems like (or may be) hours discussing the line item for office supplies (“Can we reduce it by sending more emails and using printers less?”) and then afterward passes a multimillion-dollar capital project budget with little discussion.

This phenomenon is not limited to local government budgets. It is so common across time and disciplines that it has a name: Parkinson’s Law of Triviality. The first step is to understand why the phenomenon of bike-shedding occurs. Solutions can then be designed accordingly.

This podcast features a conversation with Francisco Ordaz. For Francisco, his challenges were an opportunity to find the beauty out of life and the silver lining of compassion found in simple acts of kindness. You will hear an immigrant’s story of financial struggle and perseverance.

This podcast features a conversation with Sơn Lê Hughes, chief financial officer of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District in Oregon. Sơn Lê grew up in Vietnam during the war that ravished her country. After a trying childhood, she boarded a plane for the West Coast of the United States to start a new journey. 

This episode features a conversation with Dean Rear, General Manager of Financial Services and Chief Financial Officer with the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Growing up in Alberta at the foothills of the Rockies, on a mixed farm of crops and beef cattle, Dean describes his childhood as a “boy life” with miles of open space to ride dirt bikes and play hockey.

This podcast features a conversation with Brigitte Elke, Finance Director for the City of San Luis Obispo, California. Brigitte was born and raised in Switzerland with a strong connection to the land. At age 30, she relocated to America to work in advertising and media buying. When the dot-com bubble burst, she responded to an ad for a temp position in public finance. 

This podcast features a conversation with Dr. Kirene Bargas, Director of Finance & Administrative Services for the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Water District in Beaumont, California. Dr. Bargas grew up in Hawaii with the ocean right across the street. After high school, she relocated to Ohio looking for work and opportunities. During our conversation, she recounts a harrowing story of being held up at gunpoint and shares a survival outcome that will leave you breathless. After the trauma, she started a job that put her on a path to a 20+ year career in public finance.