Cash is King: Short-Term Strategies to Slow the Flow of Money Out the Door and Keep the Budget Balanced
Type
Policy Brief or Report
Year
2020
Level
City or Town
State(s)
All States
Policy Areas
Democracy & Governance
Local governments need to make sure they have enough cash on hand for essential services. During a financial crisis, the first thing local governments should do is slow the net flow of cash exiting and find ways to rebalance the budget. This report presents retrenchment techniques that can improve cash flow during difficult times and provide time and resources for governments to develop strategies to deal with financial crises. The techniques are divided into the following categories: techniques to reduce personnel costs, reduce capital spending, reduce materials or contractors costs, create more advantageous inflows and outflows of cash, and get new resources.