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More recently, studies issued by such organizations as the • Changing the nature of a program by making it an • U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), the Congressional entitlement, government enterprise, or legal mandate. Budget Office (CBO), and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) have been critical of the exTeriences of in an effort to broaden support for programs that have a state and local governments in tying performance to resource limited number of beneficiaries, elected officials may also allocation decisions, finding little progress made to date in decide to allocate resources for similar programs in implementing comprehensive or "true" performance diverse geographical areas, or fund„ giograms benefiting budgeting systems. Wye acknowledging certain success constituents who might otherwise oppose those programs. stories such as Sunnyvale, California, these studies have The effect of these actions is to reduce the amount of concluded that most state and local governments continue to financial resources that can be allocated' based on use performance measures primarily for reporting or internal performance goals and outcomes. management purposes. Equity considerations may also impede the ability of Realities of the Budget Environment. The governments to make extensive use of performance in the shortcomings of past budgetary reforms and evidence of budget process. Governments, particularly at the local minimal success currently suggest that not enough is kriown level, provide a number of direct services which enjoy about how the budget process can, in practice, operate to broad public support, such as police, fire, and education. more comprehensively allocate resources based on Because they benefit the community as a whole and performance. One lesson which has become apparent is that performance goals are generally easier to -define and governments trying to integrate performance into the budget measure, these services are perhaps best suited to process can be limited by the political nature of the budget performance-based resource allocation decisions. Yet the process. The budget environment has a strong impact on fact that these services are broadly supported hinders the how issues are considered, and hence, budgetary ability of elected officials to make more than incremental outcomes. [Rubin, 1993, p. 131] While performance budgetary revisions if the service is not accomplishing its data may be requested in an effort to shape decisions, intended results. Efforts to either reduce the unsuccessful other components of the environment may play an service's budget or increase its budget by taking funding equally important or more dominant role in determining away from another service are likely to encounter how programs are funded, particularly for governments resistance from program constituent groups. facing fiscal constraints. The implication of budgetary politics is that One of these factors relates to the accessibility of the performance-based resource allocation decisions can, in process to various stakeholders. The primary purpose of certain budget environments, be reduced to a narrow the budget process is to allocate scarce resources among range of budgetary choices. Budget preparation often competing programs and services. In fulfilling this role, involves compromise in order to accommodate a diverse the budget process must reconcile various interests, range of interests. This requirement has effectively including government officials, interest groups, and the placed a significant number of decisions outside the community as a whole, while at the same time ensuring realm of where performance results can influence that community residents are generally satisfied with budgetary outcomes in many jurisdictions_ As a result, spending decisions. To the extent that the budget process governments have not achieved widespread success in has many access points, beneficiaries of programs which implementing comprehensive performance budgeting. do not perform well may resort to other strategies in an effort to improve the chances of funding. [Rubin, 1993, Nevertheless, performance measurement is a powerful tool see Chapter 4] Examples of such tactics include: that can improve the ability of state and local governments to provide services efficiently and effectively. Policy makers • Framing issues in terms of lives lost or other should be encouraged to consider performance in making unacceptable consequences if the program is not resource allocations decisions, even if performance is funded; ultimately not the determining factor in why programs are funded At a minimum, collecting and reporting • Tying the program to high -priority policy goals or performance data raises the quality of the debate on important community values; programs and services. Budgetary issues are more likely to be discussed in the context of strategic or service • Mobilizing constituents to lobby on behalf of the planning objectives. With performance measurement — program; and data, elected officials' understanding of programs, 6