Performance Budgeting for State and Local Government

This text describes performance budgeting as the integration of the components of performance management - planning, performance measurement, benchmarking, and evaluation - into the framework of state and local government budgeting. The authors present performance budgeting not as a stand-alone budgeting technique, but as an extension of the traditional budget process that reconciles financial and operational accountability. The authors make frequent references to their original research and personal experiences with performance measurement, citizen satisfaction surveys, and financial management practices. They introduce findings from a nationwide survey of public managers throughout the text to illustrate how managers actually use performance data for decision-making. The book also includes several case studies in performance budgeting as well as interviews with managers and practitioners. Designed for use in undergraduate and graduate level courses in public budgeting/financial management, this practical text will be equally useful for any student or practitioner involved in performance-based management.