Franklin County’s Post

This week's Provincial budget includes several investments that are likely to impact our members and other #OnMuni staff. In our 2024 Pre-Budget Submission, we called on the Province to provide financial support for municipal budget shortfalls due to reductions in development charges and other financial impacts resulting from Bill 23. While this year's budget investments are meant to respond to our calls and those of other municipal organizations to make municipalities whole, this funding is likely insufficient to fully cover the cost of growth. Read our latest advocacy update for details: https://ow.ly/fMCU50R46H4

[#OBS2023 #FAQs] What are open budgets? Open budgets are transparent, offer opportunities for inclusive public participation, and include well-functioning oversight by independent institutions.     Transparency refers to the provision of timely and comprehensive information on the government’s budget. Transparent budgets are the starting point for public engagement with the government on important decisions about how to raise and spend the people’s money.  Public participation in the budget involves formal mechanisms for the public to engage in the budget process. These mechanisms can be public consultations, pre-budget submissions, e-consultations, advisory councils, social audits, and participatory budgeting, among others.    Oversight refers to the role of formal oversight bodies, such as the legislature and supreme audit institutions (SAIs), in holding the executive to account throughout the budget process.

News/Social Media: Private companies are bad, rinsing local authorities wanting to capitalise on traumatised children Me to accountant: Is it possible for us to absorb at least 50% of the additional costs this year? I want to provide a lower annual increase to Local Authorities as they are struggling with budget cuts! #justsaying #purposebeforeprofit #initfortheimpact

The ACT is experiencing a child and youth mental health crisis, which is expected to worsen over coming years. We welcome the short-term funding provided to programs such as WOKE and Stepping Stones, however, longer-term funding is necessary to support the sustainability of these programs. Additional investment through the forthcoming commissioning process for the ACT Mental Health NGO sub-sector is needed to respond to increasing demand and fill gaps. Further investment is also needed in Canberra Health Services (CAMHS) to respond to unmet need in Gungahlin, to support young people aged 18-25; and those with co-occurring MH and intellectual disability. Finally, investment is necessary for system support and coordination, to enable continuation of the positive work occurring across government and community to respond to systemic challenges. We welcome the ACT Government's and Dr Sarah Miller's commitment to embedding 'lived experience' within the OMH&W, such as through the Youth Reference Group. There is an opportunity to build upon and strengthen these initiatives, to continue supporting collaborative approaches to problem-solving.

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 Published by the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department, this agency budget note (ABN) on the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) contributes to a more informed review and deliberation of the DILG’s proposed budget submitted to Congress. The ABN provides budget-related information on agency plans and programs, physical accomplishments, and financial management of the previous year’s appropriations. It also highlights the results of program evaluation conducted by other research institutions, audit findings, and the status of agency compliance with the Commission on Audit recommendations. The ABN examines the past, current, and proposed budgets in terms of allocation by program/project, type of expenditure (i.e., current expenditures and capital outlay), and shares of regional offices. Access the full study here: https://lnkd.in/gZTg2sHX

Biden Administration tweaks regulations for how states, cities can use federal funding: A recent update by the Office of Management and Budget aims to give state, local, and tribal governments more autonomy on how they spend federal grant money. #FederalNewsRadio #Management

In Aruna Roy's words "The Open Budget Survey is an exercise of 'our money - our budget' to enable us to know, decide and live with equity, justice and dignity". The heart of the OBS is that the budget must work for the people. Join us on May 29 for #OBS2023 launch https://lnkd.in/eNVrn3fG #openbudgets

📈 Could evidence-based policy be key to improving public sector productivity?💡 On the heels of the new UK Budget, BIT President David Halpern writes for Civil Service World on how the UK government can get the most out of their money to improve public services. Read the full article here 👇 https://buff.ly/3x01dQX

“Budgets are nothing if not statements of priorities” Jeff Merkley Right now, State Government Treasury officials and their Premier and Cabinet colleagues are pouring over budget submissions from child protection departments in preparation for their annual State Budget. I do not envy them, with so many competing priorities in a difficult budgetary environment post-Covid. Meeting unavoidable demand growth is usually first past the post to get the approval tick, for obvious reasons. Beyond that, what kinds of strategic investment will deliver the best outcomes for child and family services? The latest Productivity Commission’s Report of Government Services 2024 is indispensable since it provides largely excellent, longitudinal trend data (but limited analysis) on how each jurisdiction is performing based on their current policy settings. One set of jurisdictional data that may merit interest relates to relative expenditure on out of home care and family services and intensive family services (family services) and the outcomes this appears to produce. See table below: For those who may be interested I have prepared a short description of each jurisdiction’s data in the attached One Drive link: https://lnkd.in/gE3rpg9k