Budgets, Payroll ,Contracts Thats where the money is

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Budgets, Payroll ,ContractsThats where the
money is !

• Ron Nixon
• Computer Assisted Reporting Editor
• Minneapolis Star Tribune

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The Budget

• Go beyond the numbers
• Budget is a planning document
• Lays out the priorities for administration
• Year-round document for stories

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Tips for covering budgets

• Pick one unusual part of budget to begin with and
  write about. This could be one program or an
  unusual spending pattern.
• Get old budget and review for next cycle
• Read independent audits
• Sit down with city finance officials talk about
  process of budgeting
• Check to see if city is setting aside money for
  lawsuits and why

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Budgets, cont

• Look at individual budget of city agencies and
  departments
• Check single audit database to see how much
  money city is spending from federal programs.
• Look at bottom line. Is spending greater than
  revenues?
• Investmentswhere does city invest money

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Budgets cont

• Revenuewhat are the sources, have they changed
• Expenditureswhere are the increases, decreases?
• Are same line items in budget ?
• Are expenditures more than revenue?
• Agencies wish listdid it get what it wanted?

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Bonds

• Liabilities
• Finances
• Property taxation
• Underwriter
• Audited financial statements
• Bond
• Bond Counsel
• Bond Rating AAA
• Other debt

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Audits

• Fiscal review of spending
• Review of agency or government efficiency
• Program effectiveness
• Unqualified opinion
• Qualified opinion
• No Opinion
• State and Local Auditors
• www.cfda.gov
• Federal Audit Clearinghouse
• www.gao.gov
• Inspector Generals of Federal Agencies

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Other documents

• Campaign finance reports
• Contributionspay attention to dates, address,
  similar business interest
• Expenditures
• Pay attention to how much or little detail is
  provided
• Staff directories
• Schedules,calendars, phone records and emails
• Who are they meeting with?
• How are their days spent?
• Who do they talk to and when?
• Statements of Economic Interest
• Payroll and Salaries

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Contracts

• Bid Specifications
• Informal cost estimates (divide into smaller
  chunks to avoid open bids)
• Notice of bid
• Request for proposals
• Minority contracting requirements
• Audit requirements
• Performance bonds
• Changes orders

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Contract cont

• The vendors' list Get the list of all vendors
  who sold goods and services to the state
  government in the past year.
• A list of the previous year's request for
  proposals.
• Purchasing and bid rules Get the purchasing and
  bid regulations for the city

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Federal Audits of Local Spending
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Federal dollars I

• Consolidated Federal Funds Report

Location
Program
Amount
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Federal dollars II

• Federal Assistance Award Data System

Source
Who gets the money
For what?
How much