BUDGETING FOR PUBLIC POLICY
Program in Public Policy
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey
34:833:684:01
Spring 2013
Wednesdays: 4:30 p.m.-7:10 p.m.
Civic Square
Professor Henry A. Coleman
(848) 932-2972 (phone)
hcoleman@rci.rutgers.edu (email)
COURSE SYLLABUS
I. Description
This course covers the theory and practice of public sector budgeting in the United States. The emphasis
will be on the concepts and practices associated with budgeting at the federal, state, and local levels of
government. The course will examine technical and policy issues associated with public sector budgeting.
More specifically, this course will help to address several important policy questions regarding the public
sector, including:
1. What is the size of the public sector, and how is it best measured?
2. What is budgeting, and what are the various roles that budgeting plays in the public sector?
3. How does public sector budgeting differ from private sector budgeting?
4. What are the stages of the budget process?
5. How do major spending and revenue-raising activities differ among the three levels of government?
6. Who are the principal players/stakeholders in the budgeting process, and how do they differ by level of
government?
7. How is (financial) information used in the budgeting process?
8. What are the major issues surrounding the implementation of public budgets?
9. Why are budgets (or budget processes) frequently the subject of reforms?
10. What have been the major budgeting reform efforts in the U.S.?
11. What are the fundamentals of debt and cash management?
12. How do operating and capital budgets differ (and should the federal government institute a capital
budget)?
13. What are performance measures, and why are they important?
14. How do budgets affect/reflect the financial health of a jurisdiction?
15. What is the relationship between public sector budgets and the economy?
These are among the issues to be explored during this course. In each instance, our focus will be on
identifying some of the major problems and issues related to budgeting in a federal system?
II. Readings
The readings consist of a required text, journal articles, book chapters, and policy reports. The required
book (available at the Rutgers University Book Store) is:
(LJJ) Lee, Robert D., Jr., Ronald W. Johnson, and Philip G. Joyce (2012), Public Budgeting Systems, ninth
edition, (Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers)
Students are expected to purchase the primary text. Unless otherwise indicated, the other readings will be
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available at https.sakai.rutgers/edu/portal or via a link embedded in the course syllabus. As a general
rule, you will be expected to complete the assigned readings prior to the class discussion.
III. Evaluation
Grading for the course will be based on several factors, including:
1. an in-class mid-term examination (March 13, 2013)
2. a class project and presentation (April 24, 2013)
3. an in-class final examination (May 1, 2013)
4. general contributions to class discussions
IV. Office Hours
My office hours will generally be on Tuesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to
noon, and by appointment. My office is located in room 550 of the Civic Square Building at 33 Livingston
Avenue in New Brunswick.
V. Rutgers University’s Academic Integrity Policy
Academic misconduct is a growing problem at institutions of higher education around the country. Each
and every year, Rutgers students are suspended, expelled or receive failing grades due to violations of
academic integrity. Many of the students who are caught cheating were unaware of the consequences or
even unaware that their actions constituted cheating at all. Academic misconduct includes cheating,
plagiarism, failure to cite sources, fabrication and falsification, stealing ideas, and deliberate slanting of
research designs to achieve a pre-conceived result. If it occurs, academic misconduct will be dealt with
harshly. Students should acquaint themselves with this problem. The University’s Academic Integrity Policy
can be found at: http://teachx.rutgers.edu/integrity/policy.html.
VI. Attendance Policy
As a general rule, students are expected to attend (and participate in) class. While there are no formal
penalties for missing an individual class sessions, you do so at your own risk---my lecture outline/notes will
not be posted on sakai or otherwise made available to students. Students are, however, required to attend
classes on the day that the presentations and examinations are scheduled, and to submit any written
assignments on time.
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ASSIGNED READINGS*
Week one: January 23
Introduction and Overview
LJJ chapters 1 and 2
*Kogan, Richard and Robert Greenstein (2012), “Are the Size and Reach of the Federal Government
Exploding?” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (February 29) (available at www.cbpp.org)
*Marron, Donald and Eric Toder (2012), “How Big is the Federal Government?” Urban Institute and UrbanBrookings Tax Policy Center (March 26) (available at www.taxpolicycenter.org)
U.S. Bureau of the Census 2007 Census of Government (2011), “Governmental Structure and
Organization,” (available at www.census.gov/compendia/statab/)
Week two: January 30
Government and the Economy
LJJ chapter 3
Ruffing, Kathy and James Horney (2012), “Downturn and Legacy of Bush Policies Drive Large Current
Deficits,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (October 10) (available at www.cbpp.org)
Tax Foundation Staff, “The Fiscal Cliff: A Primer,” Tax Foundation Special Report No. 204 (November 13)
(available at www.taxfoundation.org)
Week three: February 6
Budget Cycles, Processes, and Institutions
LJJ chapter 3
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2010), “Policy Basics: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process”
(December 6) (available at www.cbpp.org)
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2010), “Policy Basics: The ABCs of State Budgets” (January 28)
(available at www.cbpp.org)
National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) (2008), “Budget Processes in the States” (January)
(available at www.nasbo.org)
Week four: February 13
Budget Preparation
LJJ chapters 7 and 8
Week five: February 20
Budget Approval
LJJ chapters 9 and 10
Week six: February 27
Budget Execution
LJJ chapter 11
Week seven: March 6
Budgeting for Revenues
LJJ chapters 5 and 6
*Federation of Tax Administrators (1993), “Revenue Forecasting and Estimation --- How It’s Done, State
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by State,” State Tax Notes (May 3), pp. 1038-1051.
Mikesell, John L. (2002), “Tax Expenditure Budgets, Budget Policy, and Tax Policy: Confusion in the
States,” Public Budgeting and Finance (Winter), pp. 34-51.
*The PEW Center on the States and The Nelson Rockefeller Institute of Government (2011), “States’
Revenue Estimating: Cracks in the Crystal Ball,” (March) (available at www.pewcenteronthestates.org)
Week eight: March 13
IN-CLASS MID-TERM EXAMINATION
Week nine: March 20
SPRING BREAK---NO CLASSES
Week ten: March 27
Financial Management and Reporting
LJJ chapter 12
Week eleven: April 3
Capital Budgeting and Financing, Debt Management
LJJ chapters13 and 14
Week twelve: April 10
Intergovernmental Relations
LJJ chapter 15
Week thirteen: April 17
Current Issues in Public Budgeting---“The 800-Pound Gorillas: Dealing with Growing Public Debt,
Entitlements, and Retirement Obligations”
Barrett, Katherine et alia (2007), “Promises with a Price: Public Sector Retirement Benefits,” The Pew
Center on the States (December) (available at www.pewcenteronthestates.org)
Clark, Robert (2008), “The Crisis in State and Local Government Retiree Health Benefit Plans: Myths and
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (2010), “Getting Back in the Black,” A Report of the
Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform (available at www.budgetreform.org)
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (2010) (available at www.fiscalcommission.gov)
Pew Center on the States (2010), The Trillion Dollar Gap: Underfunded State Retirement Systems and the
Roads to Reform (February) (available at www.pewcenteronthestates.org)
State Budget Crisis Task Force (2012), “Report of the State Budget Crisis Task Force,” (see the Summary
Report, the Full Report, and the New Jersey Report) (available at www.statebudgetcrisis.org)
Week fourteen: April 24
CLASS PROJECT PRESENTATIONS
Week fifteen: May 1
IN-CLASS FINAL EXAMINATION
*Note 1: the sequence of topics to be considered is flexible and may be revised to accommodate the
schedule of invited speakers. Still, the expectation is that all of the topics will be treated during the course
of the semester.
*Note 2: readings may be substituted or augmented to reflect guest speakers or new developments.
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