Center for Government Innovation

During this pandemic, many governments are feeling the pressure on their general fund and looking at cost cutting and other measures. Acting early can be very beneficial. We noticed some local governments during the Great Recession (2007-09) that seemed to fare better because they did just that. Another strategy we observed was the use of teams to flush out financial options and strategies, to take advantage of some creative but legally allowable solutions. Even if you have a small staff, you can potentially reach out to peers to work on this together.

At least initially, the general fund typically bears all general operating costs, such as for information technology, human resources, accounting, and facilities maintenance. But some local governments develop a plan to share these overhead costs with other funds that jointly benefit from the services provided. A cost allocation plan is optional and requires some work to set up and carry out, but it can take some pressure off of the general fund. This blog post will share some helpful tips and resources should you decide to go that route.

If the COVID-19 crisis is hurting your local government's cash flow, you might be looking to borrow from restricted funds. A restricted fund is one containing revenues that are intended for a certain purpose due to legal or contractual constraints. However, if such a fund is holding cash that's not needed currently and it's legally available to be invested, then it may be loaned to other funds. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

By Debbie Pennick
Assistant Director for the Center for Government Innovation

The coronavirus pandemic likely is forcing you to change how you do your work, such as processing payroll or paying your bills. For example, you might have fewer staff members working to do the same tasks. Teleworking adds another component, often requiring a change to how you process and approve transactions. We understand that local governments need to get the work done, but we'd like to share a few important things.

Changes can create risk

Local governments are navigating many new areas while managing operations in response to coronavirus. Here is some information and links to resources. Thanks go to the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) for its timely guidance provided in several important areas of this guidance.

Guidance from SAO on accounting-related matters

Do you use a checklist to prepare or review your financial statements? If not, maybe you should! Checklists are a great way to make sure you remember important steps.

Nothing is more synonymous with accounting and finance than the monthly reconciliation. Recall even your most basic memory of “finance,” and the importance of balancing your personal checkbook. This essential control activity to government finance not only ensures that banking and accounting records are accurate, but is also a component of identifying unusual transactions that might result from fraud.

By The Center for Government Innovation

Have you ever had this experience? You go to a co-worker's desk to collaborate on a project and you see them use a familiar software tool do something amazing that you hadn't thought of. It happens to me more often that I care to admit. This is most frustrating when I know I was introduced to that function during a past training but didn't retain and master it.

By The Center for Government Innovation