Money Talks — What Does Your Budget Say?

Abstract

Preparation of a budget is the most important planning device at the disposal of an administrator. It must be not only carefully conceived but also well justified to secure legislative approval. With increasing demands for the taxpayers' dollars, an ever greater scrutiny of budget proposals is needed. Each program must meet the test of need; and proposals for things other than the basic necessities of life must be shown to be productive. Requests for budget increases should be based on these generally accepted reasons: to increase efficiency, improve the success rate, maintain a level of service, and correct health and safety hazards. And the good administrator must make the most of the dollar available to him.