Custom «Writing Assignment 2: Public Meeting Analysis» Essay Paper

Introduction

Public meetings are regular meetings held at specific months, days or dates, time and also venue. The meetings may be held at different levels such as city, county or local levels and this determines, the agenda of the meeting, who the facilitators and audience are and the mode of running the meeting. Before attending the meeting , it important to coordinate with the instructor to get informed on the agenda of the meeting and find out if and how it can provide the information needed to complete a particular assignment.  For instance, when interest is on financial information is required then financial committee meetings, local finance committee meetings, and local citizen budget hearings would be very helpful. The participants in the meeting comprise of the facilitators who are normally elected by members of the board, council or committee, elected members who are normally representatives of some smaller departments or projects and other ordinary members. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the information obtained based on finance or budget from public meetings so as to reflect on the course concepts learned.

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In public meetings dealing with either budget or finance, the most important person who is relied upon to provide relevant and up to date information is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The officer is in charge of properly maintaining a company’s books of accounts; ensure that appropriate accounting policies are applied in preparation of financial statements. The CFO ensures there is a reasonable and prudent manner when doing financial estimates, checks the financial statements of a company to ensure its state of affairs, operational results, changes in equities and cash flows are fairly represented.  In addition, the officer has to ensure there is a sound control of internal control system. The CFO has to ensure that corporate governance’s best practices are maintained as well as ensure that the company’s ability to continue is not significantly in doubt (Khan, n.d.).

The Interaction between the Elected Members and the Chief Financial Officer

The chief financial officer reports to the accounting officer so as to assist the officer to do his or her financial responsibilities which are, for instance, budget preparation and development and maintenance of internal control procedures and policies. He actively takes part in business decisions in the leadership team. He is therefore required to liaise closely with the accounting officer and the management team, manage the finance and accounting staff. The CFO in the city of phoenix works with the planning committees by directing them on the overall procedures in the acquisition of really estate as well as serving as the immediate technical supervisor and participant in the activities of other elected members. He is the chairman of the Retirement Investment Committee and in the Executive Board of the General Employees Retirement System he serves as an ex-officio.

The person in charge of this position reports to the Assistant City Manager. He or she works with the law department so the settlements may be obtained which could be in actions connected to condemnation as well as claims facing the city. In addition, the CFO works together with the committee in charge of city Insurance concerning matters relating to Risk Management. Generally, the CFO is required to be exemplary on matters of integrity, efficiency, commitment to innovation as well as maintaining activities in a fiscally responsible manner (Official Site of the City of Phoenix -Chief Financial Officer, n.d.).

The Role of the Public and/or Interest Groups

A good government does not only depend on the elected members but also on the role played by the residents. There can be hundreds of volunteers who may be appointed to serve on the boards and commissions. The members are responsible for processes that may potentially affect the financial or budget decisions which include airport expansion, development planning, regulations for neighborhood zoning, building safety among others. For instance, in Avondale council  was able to open Gangplank Avondale in the month of  March 2012 with Gangplank Jr, Arrduino group Hack nights and community groups   that are expected to use the groups as members of the public and interest groups  as initiatives. Also involved in this development is the hoc committee and IT. It has also managed to create a relationship with Small Business Development Center counselor who is located at EMCC. This relationship will open new ways for accessing share prospects and improve events and services promotion on the website as well as city social media outlets.

Differences between How Capital and Recurring Expenditures Are Address

The recurrent costs associated with the projects of capital in the light of investment budget. This aims at preventing problems that may arise from budget planning which normally lead to under- funding of operating and maintenance costs which are common in economies which are developing. The objective is therefore to provide the suitable guidance  that will enable the management to prepare budget submissions which will ensure that the information on the future implications of the recurrent costs which affect today’s capital spending is quantified  in a way that enables the authorities to make proper project selection and budget decisions. 

How the Council/Board/Committee Has Dealt With the Recent Financial Crisis and/or the Meeting Issues That Relate To the Financial Crisis and Measures to Deal With It

The city of Phoenix has in three not been able to carry out its activities according to its regular budget schedule.  The city council had to use strong employ relations as well as sacrifices which refers to second year of pay reductions. This measure hinged on the employees’ direct contribution to investment in the council endeavors. The company had to use better strategies in order to make accurate revenue estimates as well as present a better forecasting in expenditure. The council was able to achieve these due to the support it got by the compliance of all businesses to have their fair share.

The council also had a strong focus on efficiency and innovation which resulted to annual savings of over$ 59 million in the last three years. In addition, the budget schedule was more adhered to through improved responsible financial management which was also done through debt refinancing, increased contingency funds ensuring that bond ratings were maintained highly. Finally, so as to minimize impacts on the council’s residents, tax collections were greatly reduced in adverse times. 

Anything Else Of Note

In comparison to the city of Phoenix’s ways of dealing with crises, Avondale Organization has recently faced a problem of access to capital. For this reason, a target of constructing a new office was not expected to pick u until 2014-15.The organization has been looking for a business services which can also serve as a call center which can accommodate intense packing. At the same time, workforce development is likely to be delayed for an unknown period of time in addition to current property values experiencing market reset. Part of the measures employed by Avondale Organization is to employment of a Business Development Specialist who will find ways of accessing capital to accomplish the planned projects. The committee has recognized the essence importance small business development opportunities which will increase the organization’s capital (Economic Development Update, n.d.).

Conclusion

The Public committee meetings form of the best of scrutinizing and monitoring the process of forming and implementing policies and strategies mostly finance matters. The meetings are to be held regularly so that the stakeholders may prepare their reports or feedbacks required for during the presentations at the public meeting analysis. One of the most important facilitators is the Chief Financial Officer not only deals with financial responsibly, but also but also interacts with other elected me to ensure their interests on financial obligations are met. During the Public committee meetings, the public or other interested agencies are given a role to play such as through the businesses they carry out which benefit the council or city. It is through these meetings that issues such the budget is implemented or solved.