Running head: AGENCY TRANSPARENCY AND BUDGET ACCOUNTABILITY 1

Agency Transparency and Budget Accountability

Student’s Name

Affiliated Institution
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Agency Transparency and Budget Accountability

The mayor and board of city council members, a city clerk and a city manager usually

make up the government of the city of San Antonio. Each of the districts in San Antonio

produces one city council member. San Antonio is a huge city which requires a big budget to the

city’s administration and projects. According to Ho (2018), the undertaking of public budgeting

has turned out to be extremely difficult, worrying, and complex. The residents and taxpayers in

San Antonio, same as different other cities in the United States need to know the source of

money funding the budget, accountability and transparency of how the funds will be spent in the

city.

The city of San Antonio uses its website to show its source of money funding their

budget and how they plan to spend the funds. Presently, the adopted 2020 budget calls for $2.9

billion in spending. The city has $1.35 billion for their general fund, $785 million for their

capital budget, and $979 million for the restricted fund

(https://www.sanantonio.gov/Budget/Current-Budget).

The city of San Antonio also displays a break-down of the sources of their funding. They

receive funds from city taxes, property taxes, the energy sector and other funding sources that are

not shown in the website. Another category is from smaller funding pool than the other major

funding which get money from areas like grants, water systems, fines, licenses and permits.

These sources provides over one billion dollars in revenue for the city of San Antonio. The city

gets revenue from a wide range of areas and the collected revenue is then channeled towards

funding of their annual budgets.

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The allocation of funds is also listed on the city of San Antonio website. The city

provides an overall plan of where the funding is being utilized. As indicated by their website,

$850 million is spent on public safety, $165 million on street and infrastructure, $69 million on

parks and recreation, and $301 million on other expenditures (retrieved from

https://www.sanantonio.gov/Budget/Current-Budget). Taking a further study on the city’s

website, there is a simplified budget that further highlights the rest of other spending.

The city of San Antonio has been fairly accountable and transparent in the revenue,

expenditures and budgeting processes. The city has nearly 500 pages handout illustrating their

budget which is easily accessed by the public. The taxpayers are shown exactly how their tax

funds are being spent. As they illustrate other revenue and expenditure, there is also an access to

their full budget pinned in their finance tab. The financial information is made available by the

city administration and it also accounts for funding and expenditure in a transparent manner.

San Pedro Creek is an historic asset and project which is currently being worked by San

Antonio. It is in the linear park downstream from its headwaters inside San Pedro Springs Park

one of the first green spaces in the city. San Pedro Creek is another entry for people going

towards downtown and not just for tourists to stroll and enjoy the view of the water. The

construction of the massive restoration of the project is estimated to cost $8 million over budget

and will need $5 million of private funding and grants (retrieved from

https://www.sanantonio.gov/TCI/Projects/ San Pedro Creek #23842920-project-timeline). The

project can create a cyclist and a pedestrian pathway that eliminates the inconveniences caused

by traffic and smog from the busy highway above the waterway level. Unlike suburban master-

planned projects that claim simply recreational hike and bike trails, it can link workplaces and
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cheap neighborhoods in an enjoyable way. This project is momentous since the means of

travelling across a city can dictate how the local economy is built.

Budget planning and preparation of this project in San Antonio are at the heart of

efficient public expenditure management. The city of San Antonio ensures full effectiveness by

adopting various forms of financial and fiscal discipline in their public expenditure management

systems. This improves the accountability to the citizenry on how the city is using public funding

on the project. The city is ensuring the control of total expenditure to certify affordability which

is showing reliability with the macroeconomic constraints. The city is also using effective means

to achieve resource allocation representing the project expenditure policy priorities. The city is

accountable to the public in utilizing the project’s public funds through minimizing costs of

budgetary management. This shows efficient budget implementation and fund management

practices. Besides, the city of San Antonio shows accountability to citizenry through publication

of an annual public finance report.

Conclusion

Lastly, public finance administration is found on the local, state and federal governments.

A level of integrity, transparency and accountability of a public agency can be displayed through

ethical practices. Different management styles creates numerous avenues of strategy for solving

challenges. Project budget planning is a crucial aspect of the process and needs of the budget

should be regularly examined. Accountability and transparency of public agencies is important to

build in trust in the citizenry.

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References

Ho, A. (2018). From Performance Budgeting to Performance Budget Management: Theory and

Practice. Public Administration Review, 78(5), 748-758.

https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12915

https://www.sanantonio.gov/Budget/Current-Budget

https://www.sanantonio.gov/TCI/Projects/ San Pedro Creek #23842920-project-timeline