University of Texas at Dallas

School of Social Sciences

Course Description and Syllabus for

PA 5321 501 - Government Financial Management & Budgeting - Spring 2006
Room: CN 1.304

Instructor: Teodoro (Ted) J. Benavides

Phone: (O) 972-883-4745
Email: teodoro.benavides@utdallas.edu
Blackberry email: tbenavides@mycingular.blackberry.net
Office hours: TWT (2:00 pm – 4:00 pm)
Office: Green Hall 2.818

Instructor Profile

M. P. A. from Southern Methodist University, University Park, Texas

B. S. S. E. from Texas A&M University at Kingsville (Formerly Texas A&I University)
Area of Expertise: City Management and Financial Management and Budgeting
Previous Governmental Position: City Manager, City of Dallas, Texas (1998 – 2004)

Course Objectives

This course will deal with a wide range of topics dealing with the fiscal administration of
governmental entities. We will examine whether it is possible to accomplish
governmental missions and display leadership in an era of limited resources. We will
also review in the post Enron world the impact that accountability and wide spread media
coverage has had on the manner in which governmental entities manage their fiscal
responsibilities.

Required Reading

Fiscal Administration
John L. Mikesell
Thomson / Wadworth
Sixth Edition

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 Grades Policy

Mid-Term 30%
Final Examination 30%
Research Paper 30%
Class Participation 10%

Grand Total 100%

Letter Grade Assignment

A: 100 – 90 B: 89 - 80 C: 79 – 70 F: 69 – 0

Examinations

All exams will contain true / false, multiple choice and essay questions.

Class Participation

I will engage each class member in group discussions.

Attendance

If for any reason you are unable to attend class, please feel free to contact me via email.

Research Paper

You are required to write a short analysis of a single topic that addresses an area dealing
with governmental financial management and budgeting. You are to research the facts
and history of the topic and then analyze and evaluate it in light of the concepts discussed
in this course. This paper serves as a proxy for a mid-term exam. Thus, the more tightly
you wed your analysis to major themes in this course, the better you will do.

The paper must be typed, 6 – 8 pages in length (not including title page and
bibliography), stapled (no folders), double-spaced, with one-inch margins and 12 point
font. On your title page, put your name, and course title. You must cite at least four
different bibliographic sources in the paper, all of them drawn from books (other than
your course material) or academic journals (Time and Newsweek and the like do not
qualify). Book reviews and encyclopedias (including Encarta) are also unacceptable as

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scholarly sources. You may use internet sources, but they do not count as one of your
four principal sources, and must not comprise the bulk of your research. Your paper
must conform to all elements of standard usage, style, pagination, and documentation.
You may employ any standard documentation technique – footnotes, endnotes or
parenthetical references – as long as you are consistent and complete. I highly
recommend that you consult a reference book on research papers. Kate Turabian’s book
A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Thesis and Dissertations is a great place to start.
Proper grammar and spelling are important. Clear reasoning and logical organization are
essential.

The goal of the assignment is for you to exercise and hone your research and writing
skills through the exploration of a specific topic, develop your analytical skills by forcing
you to evaluate actors and actions through a specific framework, and develop the habit of
clear and professional presentation of material.

Papers must begin with a clear statement of your argument. Continue with a brief
summary of the facts, placing players and events in historical context, and supplying a
summary of the important facts you will use in your analysis. The bulk of the paper
should be comprised of your evaluation of the subject based on the criteria established in
this course. I do not want you to take extraordinary efforts to mention every single
concept discussed in this course in a burdensome effort to relate it to your specific topic.
Pick those areas that appear to be most pertinent, and explore those in detail. As always,
the final product should be professional in appearance. Take pride in your work!

You will do much better if you focus your efforts on one or two areas and explore them
completely than if you take a shotgun approach and try to hit every possible aspect of
your topic. Your grade will be determined by your ability to integrate the facts of the
case with larger themes of this course in a well-reasoned argument. Keep in mind that all
aspects of these instructions are important in evaluating your work.

Please see me to confirm the suitability of a topic for your research paper.

COURSE OUTLINE AND ASSIGNMENTS

DATE DESCRIPTION CHAPTER(S)

January 10 Fundamental Principles of Public Finance 1

January 17 The Logic of the Budget Process 2

January 24 Budget Structures and Institutions: Federal and State-Local 3

January 31 Budget Methods and Practices 4

Budget Classifications and Reform 5

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February 7 Capital Budgeting, Public Infrastructure Investment, 6
and Project Evaluations

February 14 Taxation: Criteria for Evaluating Revenue Options 7

February 21 Major Tax Structures: Income Taxes 8

February 28 Mid-Term Exam 1–8

March 7 No Class – Spring Break

March 14 Tax Structures: Taxes on Goods and Services 9

Major Tax Structures: Property Taxes 10

March 21 Revenue from User Fees, User Charges, and Sales by

Public Monopolies 11
Collecting Taxes 12

(Research paper due on March 21st)

March 28 Revenue Forecasts, Revenue Estimates, and Tax

Expenditure Budgets 13

April 4 Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations: Diversity and

Coordination 14

April 11 Debt Administration 15

April 18 Managing Funds: Cash Management and Employee

Retirement Funds 16

April 25 Final Exam 9 - 16

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Building consensus

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University of Texas at Dallas

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