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Increasing Trust and Financial Sustainability
BY SHAYNE KAVANAGH
This article is part of an ongoing series about financial sustain- For example, under perfect equality, resources are equally
ability, based on GFOA:s new financial sustainability frame- distributed to all stakeholder groups. Another definition of
work. It is adapted from a whitepaper, available at gfoa.org. "equitable" might provide services hack to stakeholders pro-
You can learn more about the framework at www.gfoa.org/ portionate to the amount they paid, while yet another might
financialsustainability. provide services in proportion to the individual need of the
constituent. And different definitions might be appropriate
he underlying reason for transparency is to help create for different services. For example, for a municipal water or
trust amongst citizens,government administrators,and sewer service,users' financial contributions are typically pro-
elected officials. When citizens trust in government, portional to their use of the system.For many social services,
they will be more willing to pay taxes,participate in commu- the users do not pay taxes or fees in an amount sufficient to
nity governance,cooperate with government officials to solve cover their costs—they are subsidized by other payers.
community problems,and invest in the community.
This article focuses on how trust will produce financial sus- "All are equal, hut some are more equal than others."
tainability for local governments, and how transparency is a
means to obtaining this end.However,financial sustainability —GEORGE ORWELL,
warning that governments that proclaim equality
is not simply a matter of dollars and cents. A local govern-
in fact give power and resources to a small elite.
ment has three fundamental responsibilities that are essential
to financial sustainability:'
Perceptions of equity have real
Equitable Responsibility. Each
The responsibility to provide implications for trust in government.If
jurisdiction must provide basic
services that maintain the resources are perceived to be distrib-
utedservices for maintaining the health, inequitably—according to fam-
safety,and welfare of the commu- health, safety, and welfare of
nity, regardless of an individual ily background,personal connections,
resident's capacity for payment.
constituents may appear to be political affiliation, etc. — then trust
relatively straightforward, but in the institutions responsible for dis-
Fair Pricing. Each jurisdiction must z
tributing those resources will decline.
ensure basic services are provided the need to provide services
If the standard of fairness is perceived
at prices that are fair to current and equitably across stakeholders
q y to be reasonable and not unduly ben
future residents.
belies this apparent simplicity. efiting one group at the expense of
- Fiduciary Responsibility. Each another, this gives the impression that
jurisdiction must ensure that cur public officials care, and can be rea-
rent and future expenditures are soned with and influenced.
justified by benefit-cost calculations
and supported by reliable revenue streams. Hence, local A government should be clear about its definition of"equi-
governments must think carefully about how to clarify the table"and show how that value is implemented.For example,
relationship between the benefits received by stakehold- the City of Portland, Oregon, adopted equity as an overarch-
ers and the contributions they make to sustaining local ing goal of its strategic plan (see Exhibit 1). From there, the
government. council decided to focus on racial equity and equity for peo-
ple with disabilities. The city adopted three specific equity
4�t?t!ITABt.F RFSPONSIt3tt !TY goals, covering: 1) the representativeness of the city's work-
The responsibility to provide services that maintain the force; 2) outreach and engagement of marginalized groups;
health, safety, and welfare of constituents may appear to be and 3) elimination of inequities in service provision. Each
relatively straightforward, but the need to provide services city department developed a racial equity plan to show how
equitably across stakeholders belies this apparent simplicity. these goals would be implemented.The plans were adopted
This is because there are different ways to define"equitable." by council resolution.
December 20171 Government Finance Review 9
tiveness of this tool has improved over the years as depart-
Exhibit I: Portland's Strategies merits get more acclimated and as the guidance from the
city's Budget Office and Office of Equity and Human Rights
EQUITY has become more refined.
Taken together, the performance measures, maps, and
budget equity assessment show the"equity"value can be dis-
Thriving corned in the way the city allocates resources and the results
Educated Youth
produced by city services.
EVIDENCE OF REf-.iA3it_o
Moving on from communicating how equity is valued,
transparency can support a government's civic responsibility
Healthy Economic in other ways. For example, one aspecLof a government's
Connected City Prosperity and perceived its ability to deal with
Affordability
uncertain . 1 . . '.• :t. ' • el -0 •t. . edict-
nee A government can enact a variety of financial
policies that are aimed at helping it prepare for,and respond
to, uncertainty. For example, a publicly adopted "rainy day
fund" policy that defines the amount of money the govern-
ment will keep in reserve and the conditions under which
it can be used could offer assurances of reliability. Such a
To identify where services are being provided equitably(or policy could be even more powerful if the reserved amount is
not), Portland uses a series of performance measures broken based on an explicit analysis of the risks a government faces
down by geographies. Population information (e.g., race or and there is a means for outsiders to verify that the guideline
disability)can be overlaid on the maps. For example, a map set forth by the policy are being followed. For example,some
of pavement quality index shows that the east side of Portland, local governments have published an annual self-assessment
traditionally an underserved area, has some of the best- of the extent to which they are in compliance with their finan-
quality streets in the city. However,
cial policies.
a map of traffic fatalities shows that
this same area has a relatively large Perceptions of equity have Transparency initiatives can be used
number of fatalities. Hence, a more to support perceptions of competence.
real implications for trust in program called"Boston a,For example,equitable distribution of resources p p g
might not entail more street mainte- government. If resources are About Results" quantifies how well
nance, but, instead, more investment perceived to be distributed public employees are able to respond
in traffic control devices. Portland's to service requests and reports the
inequitably — according to results on digital scorecards (boston.
maps and performance measures are g
available online. Some of the maps family background, personal gov/finance/boston-about-results).
are interactive, allowing the publicconnections, political affiliation,
These statistics range from number of
to pursue different lines of inquiry home health-care visits to how much
about equity. etc. — then trust in the trash and graffiti is cleaned during a
Portland also has a "budget equity institutions responsible for given period of time. Across these and
assessment tool" to help departments distributing those resources other metrics, the scorecards compare
actual performance to Boston's goals.
think through how their base budget will decline.
and any requested additions (or sub- All the scorecards are available on
tractions) impacts equity. The effec- the"Boston About Results"website,and
10 Government Finance Review I December 2017
are aggregated to a daily "CityScore." access to these stories and images may
CityScore is easy to understand: A help build taxpayers' trust that their
A government can enact a
score less than 1.0 is below the city's money is being used well. School dis-
goal, and higher than 1.0 is exceed- variety of financial policies tricts sometimes use this strategy when
ing the goal. All the data that goes in that are aimed at helping a children who have benefited from an
to CityScore is presented on a daily to educational program are featured as
quarterly basis, which shows how the government prepare for, and
part of descriptions of that program.
numbers are trending over time. respond to, uncertainty. There is likely potential for local gov-
To verify Boston's financial pro-
similar
to more systematically use
bity, citizens can explore the city's similar techniques to build trust.
checkbook via a searchable "Open
Expenditures" platform. The database aggregates all spend FAIR PRICING
ing by department and over time, to help summarize data. Fair pricing is about providing services at a reasonable cost
Boston has won GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation to current and future residents. "Fair" is the key word.This is
award for its comprehensive annual financial report and bud- because whenever governments think about which services
get, thereby providing citizens with other means by which to to provide and at what prices, there will be "winners" and
check the city's financial competence. "losers." According to the concept of procedural justice, the
perceived fairness of the decision-making process is crucial
Finally, local governments might think about how open to the acceptance of these decisions and, ultimately, trust in
data could address the public's emotions and intuitions. For
the institution.
example, charitable organizations long ago realized that
donors don't care for pie charts that show where donor money Governments can a start by being transparent about the
is allocated. They prefer stories and images that show how values behind the way prices are set. User fees provide a
their money is making an impact on people. Because many straightforward illustration.Some services seek to recover the
taxpayers are, in effect, "donors" to public services, having full cost of providing the service through the fees charged to
customers. For service such as utilities or building permits,
there is an underlying belief that people who use the service
A CASE STUDY IN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: should pay the full cost of producing it. For other types of
The Sherriff Who Purchased Too Many Avon services, the government might accept fees that don't cover
Products
the entire cost — which might be the case for an after-
A county government put in place an online open checkbook school recreation program for at-risk youth.A user-fee policy
to increase transparency.There was a subsequent uproar adopted by the governing board can make these values trans
when the local media discovered that the Sheriffs department parent. The City of San Luis Obispo, in California, provides
had spent a large amount of money on "Avon Products," an illustration of such a policy. (The city's "User Fee Cost
which many people mistook for the cosmetics company.As it Recovery Goals" policy is available at gfoa.org.) The city's
turned out,over the course of transporting prisoners out to policy describes which services are expected to recover their
the county jail in the countryside,the sheriffs bus would stop full cost through user fees and which services will be par-
in a town called Avon to buy gas.The name of the gas station tially subsidized through general tax dollars, and it describes
was Avon Products.While it is fortunate that the sheriff was the criteria used to reach this decision. For example, ser-
not guilty of a cosmetics scandal,it is unfortunate the govern- vices that produce benefits for the entire community, rather
ments reputation was damaged when the truth of the matter than just for the person who uses the service, are eligible
did not spread as far as the alleged wrongdoing(even with a for a subsidy.
retraction issued by the media). Setting fair tax rates is not as clear-cut as setting user fees,
Stay from the personal experiences orlon Johnson of the Center for Priority-Based but local governments can still introduce transparency into
Budgeting. how tax rates are set. For example, a government might rec-
ognize that a general community-wide tax supports a certain
December 20171 Government Fnance Review I I
basic level of service, but segments of Exhibit 2 shows historical trends
the community that want additional in Redmond's price of government
Fiduciary responsibility is
services should pay additional taxes. as well as the presumed effect of the
For instance, San Bernardino County, about providing good value forecasted revenue on the price of
California, covers one of the largest to taxpayers and making sure government. The chart contains three
geographic areas of any county in layers. The first is all the taxes the
that cervices are c1 innnrted
the United States. Snowfall is only a ' ' city receives, such as property, sales,
concern in mountainous parts of the by reliable revenue streams utility, hotel, admission, etc. The sec- .
county, where residents want more in the future. and layer adds on user fees, includ-
frequent snow removal — so San ing utility user fees, recreation fees,
Bernardino County establishes special and development fees. The last layer
taxing districts in those areas to pay readies a total lot the entire city by
for the cost. Hence, there is direct connection established adding the city's remaining revenue sources, such as icens-
betw..ri what taxpayers pay and what they get, and "pre- ing charges,f.nec,interest income,and grants The chart also
mium" snow removal in some parts of the county is not shows Redmond's desired range for the price of government
subsidized by taxpayers in other parts of the county. Further, —5 to 5.5 percent of personal income,as set by city council
taxpayers living in the districts must petition to form the dis- policy—and it shows the reasons for why the city has gone
tricts and then vote them into existence, and they call vote above that range. The range was arrived at through debate
to dissolve them at any time. Because these districts are not amongst the city council members about the minimum
imposed,citizens feel they are fair. level of revenue necessary to provide the level of service
The City of Redmond, Washington, provides transparency that Redmond residents expect and the maximum level
on how the city sets tax rates with their"price of government" of financial burden that Redmond municipal government
policy.The price of government compares the city's revenues should place on its citizens.
with the total personal income of all Redmond residents;' Of course, citizens must receive sufficient benefit in return
which reveals how much of citizens'resources are being con- for any financial contribution they make for a price to be
sumed by the city and also provides a good context in which considered"fair."Open data that allows citizens to check gov-
the city council can discuss future tax rates. ernments' work has been the gold standard in transparency
initiatives so far.For example,the Citizen-Centric Report from
I
Syracuse City,Utah,compares revenues to expenditures and
then shows the distribution of specific revenue sources and
� El 0 ..ii IQ expenditure categories.
I , Governments might be able to do more to demonstrate
❑ 0 value-for-money to citizens upfront,before they make a finan-
cial contribution. For instance, the City of Roanoke,Virginia,
N,�,....4 found itself short of funding for its schools in an anti tax
w climate. In response, the city proposed a two percentage-
''' point increase in its meal tax, the proceeds of which would
go for public education. A key reason that the tax passed is
,� because taxpayers could easily appreciate the connection
'� between their contribution to the community's finances and
the resulting benefit. There is a belief among government
�" finance officers that tax measures that are connected to a
specific purpose are more acceptable to citizens that those
1 that aren't. Hence, governments may have the opportunity
build trust with citizens for taxes and fees by showing a direct
I
I
12 Government Finance Review 1 December 2017
Exhibit 2: City of Redmond Revenues as a Percentage of Total Personal Income of All the City's Citizens
■Taxes Only •Taxes and Fees •All Revenue
8
Spike in Revenues from Housing Boom Large Grant Received
7
6
- - - - CitW's
5 Desired
Range
4
3
2
0 Q
N m - Z5 8 8 r8 8 8 8 8 8 8— — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 F. 0 0 0
N N N N N N N N N N N N ( N N N N N N
Year �
Forecasts
The `price of government"demonstrates the tax burden the City of Redmond places on its citizens.
connection between the taxes/fees paid and the services/ the values related to this responsibility is a good starting
benefits produced. point. For example,the Town of Gilbert,Arizona, recognized
Finally, inherent in the corporate responsibility is intergen the need to have reliable funding for infrastructure
erational equity, which is simply to say that today's budget maintenance in order to maintain a high quality of life in
should not be balanced on the backs of tomorrow's taxpay the community. To that end, the city council adopted "long-
ers. For example, if a government is accumulating debt or and short-term balanced financial plans" and "proactively
other unfunded liabilities at an unsustainable rate, then it address infrastructure needs"as two of six strategic initiatives
should he reported and publicized among stakeholders(i.e., in 2011 — a clear signal that Gilbert takes its fiduciary
long-term forecasts should include long-term costs such as responsibility seriously.
maintaining assets to a reasonable standard of quality). Integrity is essential to the public's perceptions of fiduciary
responsibility.This is because concerns about public corrup-
FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY tion and the capture of lawmaking and enforcement author-
Fiduciary responsibility is about providing good value to ity by moneyed interests are some of the most important
taxpayers and making sure that services are supported by forces working against public trust in governments Public )
reliable revenue streams in the future. Again, articulating officials should demonstrate their integrity to citizens though
December 2017 I Government Finance Review 13
measures like asset disclosure,conflict government could also obtain and
of interest management, and transpar integrity is essential to the publicize independent expert reviews
ency in lobbying and political financ- of its financial analysis to improve
ing For example, a handful of cities public's perceptions of fiduciary credibility(e.g.,the external audit that
across the United States share informa- responsibility. Concerns a government receives every year).
tion about campaign financing with Some state governments involve exter-
about public corruption and
their citizens. An example is the City nal reviewers in the revenue forecast
of Albuquerque, New Mexico, which the capture of lawmaking and to improve the forecast's credibility.
shares campaign finance information enforcerltent authority by Local governments could look for sim-
through an online portal. Ideally,cam- ilar opportunities.
paign finance data includes informa moneyed interests are sometion from reports filed by candidates, of the most important forces
political action committees,and other working against public trust Citizens' trust in government is vital
relevant groups. Where the money
in ovet-nment. to the functioning of a democratic.came from,who spent the money,how system. Transparency is one way in
much was spent, and what the money which governments can build trust.
went toward are important metrics for However, there are costs associated
the campaign finance dataset! with transparency that range from time and money spent on
There is, however, a limitation to these methods in that transparency initiatives to less obvious concerns about unin-
citizens must avail themselves of the records for these meth- tended consequences, like misunderstandings about what
ods to have their full intended impact. Unfortunately, it is data means and too much access for special interest groups.
unlikely that large numbers of citizens will do so. Therefore, Thus, the future of government may not necessarily lie in
governments may need to recognize and take advantage more transparency,but rather in smarter transparency,which
of high-profile opportunities to demonstrate integrity. large includes providing information on government performance
capital projects, for example, have the reputation for attract- with enough context for citizens to evaluate the quality of
ing mismanagement and corruption.The public is also likely government's work. I
to notice such projects,since they usually have a dominating Notes
physical presence. Local governments could make special 1.Shayne Kavanagh,Mark Pisano,Shui Yan Tang,ct al,"A Framework for a
Financial Sustainability Index."Lincoln Institute of Land Policy,Working
efforts to demonstrate and publicize integrity around such Paper WP17MP1,April 2017.
projects, thereby piggybacking off the attention they nate- 2.Eric U.Gould and Alexander Hijzen,"In Equality,We Trust,Finance and
rally generate. For example,a special website for the project Development,a magazine of the International Monetary Fund,March
2017.
could highlight transparent and fair procurement and bid 3.Trust and Public Policy,Organization for Economic Co-operation and
award procedures. Development,2017.
1.Total personal income for the community is calculated by multiplying
Finally, local governments can make long-term financial Redmond's per capita income from the U.S.Census Bureau's"American
planning and cost-benefit analysis integral to decision mak- Community Survey"by the total population of Redmond.While this does
not capture income from Redmond's commercial sector,the city finds it
ing. This demonstrates that the fiduciary responsibility is a a useful proxy.
concern to decision makers and allows citizens to check 5.OECD.
governments' work. Financial policies and popular financial 6.Ibid.
reports are two examples of this.Another approach would be 7.Municipal Campaign Finance Data Guidebook,Sunlight Foundation.
publicizing long-term forecasts of the government's financial 8,Robin M.I logarth and Emre Soyer,"Using Simulated Experience to Make
Sense of Big Data,"Special Collection of MIT Sloan Management Review:position, including transparent assumptions and underlying
Making Better Decisions,Winter 2015.
data. Ideally,such a model would be online and interactive,
allowing users to adjust certain parameters. A user's ability
to simulate scenarios has been shown to promote greater SHAYNE KAVANAGH is GFOA's senior manager of research. He
understanding and learning than static presentations' A can be contacted at skavanagh@gfoa.org.
14 Government Finance Review 1 December 2017