The review of the City of Rome, GA budget indicates that its total revenue in 2019 was $50.275 million (County Manager, 2019) and its total spending was $50.011 million (County Manager, 2019), which implies that it has a budget surplus at the state level. The net change in fund balance was $263,497 in 2018. There are proposed cuts announced by the Georgia State in its upcoming budgets until 2021 (Walker, 2019). However, there are both internal and external pressures on budget preparation and allocation of funds to different sectors of the City of Rome’s economy. The internal pressures, such as crime and the quality of education and healthcare.
The external constraints due to the adoption of the national policy, such as energy and environment regulations also influence the budgetary process and decisions. The budget is based on the anticipation of revenues and expenditures that the City of Rome’s government will incur in the next period.
The analysis of the City of Rome, GA budget showed that the policymakers highlighted the importance of the state budget for public safety and general government. The analysis of 2019 revised budget shows that Floyd County increased its expenditure forecast, and it is expected to have an adverse impact on its fund balance. Moreover, the local government officials have raised concerned about the budget cuts proposed by the policymakers as they feel that it will have a trickledown effect on the local government. Specifically, this will have a negative effect on the health and crime management sectors.
Both sectors were significantly affected after 2008 as the economy slowed down. There is increasing pressure from the public and lawmakers to allocate more funds to health and public safety accounts. The state has always prioritized education and providing a safe environment to students (Governments of Floyd County and City of Rome, GA, 2019). The government announced $69.4 million for the safety of school students (Walker, 2019). In the last few years, the state also facilitated businesses by giving them tax incentives supported by the Federal tax cut, which boosted economic growth in the period of recovery. The policymakers have decided to keep the tax rate low as major corporations have overpaid their taxes in previous years (Walker, 2019).
All states must maintain budget stabilization funds, which is also referred to as rainy funds, to ensure that they have sufficient funds to spend when there is an emergency or a budget deficit. City of Rome, GA government, has authorized a stabilization fund referred to as Neighborhood Stabilization Program which is operating to ensure that neighborhood safety is assured during difficult times. The stabilization program is managed through a collaborative partnership between three stakeholders, including the City of Rome, Floyd County, and neighborhood communities (Floyd County – Finance Department, 2016).
The focus of the stabilization program is to keep neighborhoods clean, which implies that the government of the City of Rome aims to provide its citizens with a clean environment. It is recommended that the City of Rome should increase its spending on education and health care. Moreover, the local government officials criticized the policymakers of the Georgia State for not taxing the tobacco industry in line with other US states. Therefore, the City of Rome should levy more taxes on this industry to increase its revenue and reduce the negative net balance.
References
County Manager. (2019). Floyd County, Georgia – FY 2019 first budget revision. Web.
Floyd County – Finance Department. (2016). City of Rome, Georgia comprehensive annual financial report year ended December 31, 2016. Web.
Governments of Floyd County and City of Rome, GA. (2019). Trends. Web.
Walker, D. (2019). Worries about state budget cuts addressed during Chamber breakfast with lawmakers. Web.