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Managing the Budgetary Process in a Hung Council
Author(s) -
Leach Steve,
Charteris Sue
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.313
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-9299
pISSN - 0033-3298
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9299.00231
Subject(s) - budget process , politics , control (management) , process (computing) , context (archaeology) , plan (archaeology) , process management , government (linguistics) , accounting , set (abstract data type) , business , public administration , strategic control , operations management , public relations , strategic planning , political science , economics , management , marketing , computer science , law , history , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , programming language , operating system , strategic financial management
This paper examines the impact of a change in 1994 from majority control to no overall control on the operation of a strategic medium‐term budget and policy plan‐ning process in Kirklees MBC. Six hypotheses are set out regarding the changes that might have been anticipated in the budget process, in the light of recent trends in the approach to budgeting in British local government, and the particular political context and recent political history of the authority. Use is made of a diary kept by a participant observer (who is also one of the authors) to document and analyse key events in the budget process. The six hypotheses are examined against the evi‐dence, and with some exceptions are confirmed. It is concluded that Kirklees’s well‐structured budget process did survive the transition to no overall control, but not without considerable difficulty. Careful management from the Executive Board, especially in brokering discussion, was a critical factor and highly advantageous to the success of the process.