Resources, Budget, and Finance

Fundamentals

Curriculum Guideline Two

Fundamentals include an understanding of court organization and funding sources, appropriate budget tools, and techniques as a means for: assembling reliable, accurate financial data on an on-going and timely basis and generating and weighing the costs and benefits of alternative court programs and resource allocation decisions.  The basics support acquiring and using valid and reliable data to support work measurement and weighted caseload analysis, court budget planning, program delivery, auditing, assessment of outcomes, and budget requests and reallocation decisions.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of differing approaches to the funding and organization of courts, both trial and appellate, and how court organization and funding impact court leader budget roles, responsibilities, and relationships;

• Knowledge of court revenue sources and their legal uses and limitations;

• Ability to manage revenue collection (e.g., fee and fine), including management of accounts receivable, so as to enhance revenues and improve enforcement of court orders;

• Knowledge of the information and analytical reports needed by the court and its leadership to support budget allocation, planning, and decision making;

• Knowledge of the alternative court budget planning formats and their advantages and disadvantages, information, and analytical requirements;

• Skill in overseeing cost-benefit analysis, work measurement, weighted caseload analysis, and bench-marking of court costs, outputs, and outcomes for budget planning and resource allocation;

• Ability to plan and implement budget reductions that are consistent with the court’s role, mission, and vision, as well as economic conditions, with changes in business practices to reduce costs;

• Knowledge of the purposes, methods, and uses of expenditure monitoring and cost control;

• Knowledge of financial record keeping, public sector accounting, and objective audits of court expenditures;

• Knowledge of the ethical principles and legal requirements to protect courts against fraud, theft, and embezzlement of cash and other assets;

• Knowledge of capital financing alternatives for court facilities and other large-scale purchases;

• Ability to translate facility needs and standards into capital improvement financing;

• Skill in negotiating and managing court contracts with vendors and service providers;

• Ability to select and to lead fiscal staff who are technically capable and able to support the court’s management of its budget, including the preparation and presentation of budgets, financial reports, and cost-benefit analysis.

View the Summary of Resources, Budget and Finance Curriculum Guidelines or click on each of the other six Curriculum Guidelines to see the associated Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Curriculum Guidelines

Court Purposes and Vision

Fundamentals

Leadership Teams and Interpersonal Effectiveness

Problem Diagnosis and Change

Technology

Budget Controls and Performance Monitoring

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