Memos to the Governor: An Introduction to State Budgeting, Second Edition, Updated - Softcover

Forsythe, Dall W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1589010191 ISBN 13: 9781589010192

Publisher: Georgetown University Press, 2004

Synopsis

Written by a former state budget director, this book is a concise, behind-the-scenes guide to the technical, economic, and political dynamics of budget making in state capitals. It covers all of the steps of budget preparation, from strategy to execution, explains technical vocabulary, and discusses such key topics as baseline budgeting, revenue forecasting, and gap-closing options. It is written in clear language for readers with little or no background in financial management. This edition has be revised to update the figures and examples. It also places more emphasis on the cyclical management of budgets, a topic of great concern now that state budgets have gone from the boom part of the cycle to the bust.

About this title

About the Author

Dall W. Forsythe served as budget director of New York State under Governor Mario Cuomo from 1988-1991. He was also chief budget officer for the New York City public schools. He has taught public management and political science at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, at Columbia University, and at the University at Albany. He has worked as a research scholar at the Rockefeller Institute of Government and as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers. He is the editor of Quicker, Better, Cheaper? Managing Performance in American Government. Forsythe is currently an executive in the nonprofit sector, working for the Episcopal Church.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

I've never read a more insightful, useful, and valuable description of what is perhaps the most important single function in government—the making of a budget—than Dall Forsythe's Memos to the Governor.

Edition details

• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1589010191
• ISBN 13: 9781589010192
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 112