You’re Not Going First, You’re Going Next: Navigating the New Era of Budgeting

The Moment We’re In

Local government finance leaders are facing an unprecedented perfect storm of federal funding issues.

A recent analysis from the National Association of Counties found that new federal legislation will shift funding requirements totaling as much as $1 trillion to local governments over the next 10 years. At the same time, pandemic-era relief funding programs like the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) are sunsetting.

Local governments are already feeling the fallout from these changes. The numbers tell the story from our recent research: 47% of local governments report “forecasting accuracy” as a moderate to significant challenge, while 44% cite “unexpected fluctuations in revenue and cost” as a major concern. Legacy systems and traditional budgeting processes simply can’t keep up with these changes. 

The solution to these shifts requires us to fundamentally transform how we budget in an era of genuine uncertainty.

The GFOA says just as much: “Budgeting is no longer just a financial exercise; it is a core tool of governance.” The desire for better budgeting practices isn’t a nice-to-have anymore. It’s a call to meet the moment.

What the Data Tells Us: Finance Leaders Are Already Moving

Here’s the encouraging news: finance leaders aren’t sitting on their hands. They’re rising to the occasion with clear intent that the path forward requires evaluating existing processes and ensuring budgeting is more strategic, adaptable, and resilient.

The momentum is real. According to recent research from GFOA and Polco, more than 50% of local governments have reformed their budgeting process in the last two years (2023-2025), compared to just one-third in 2023. 

What are they doing? They’re:

• Adopting new technology like budget software and performance tracking tools
• Implementing alternative budgeting methodologies, such as priority-based or outcome-based budgeting
• Creating greater alignment with strategic plans and organizational goals
• Increasing collaboration across departments and between staff and leadership

And the appetite for continued transformation is even stronger. Consider these statistics:

• According to the same study from GFOA and Polco, 83% of local government finance leaders are interested in aligning the budget with their strategic plan or priorities. Moreover, 86% of respondents were interested in leveraging technology for budgeting.
• This aligns perfectly with our own research: 88% of respondents felt that  “linking the strategic plan to the budget” was moderately or very important. In addition, 60% of local governments list modernizing systems as a top initiative in their budgeting process for 2026.

What does this tell us? Local governments aren’t just thinking about adapting to this new reality; they’re already taking action or have a strong desire to do so.

Where We Go From Here: A Movement, Not a Mandate

Let me tell you something that might ease the pressure: you’re not going first, you’re going next.

This is a movement. Others are already doing it, and that means there’s ample opportunity for local governments to share success stories and empower other organizations to adapt.

Craig Holmes put it well on our recent webinar:

We’ve seen a number of counties lean into organizations like NACo and GFOA to identify best practices. Pairing a strong system like ClearGov with NACo’s policy expertise is meeting the needs of counties in today’s environment.

So how do you actually make this happen? Here’s my advice:

Start Small. Prove It Works.

Focus on one pain point—maybe it’s budget requests, maybe it’s capital planning, maybe it’s your budget book. Little Rock, Arkansas, took this approach beautifully. After successfully modernizing its budget book with ClearGov Digital Budget Book, they recognized the opportunity to expand and tackle another long-standing pain point: personnel budgeting.

You don’t have to transform everything overnight. Pick one battle, win it, then move to the next.

Lead with the “Why”

Connect necessary change to real outcomes. Think time savings, error reduction, better trust with your community — these improvements are all at your fingertips if you’re using the right tools.

Amy Dent, Auditor of Christian County, Missouri, used the ClearGov platform to accelerate the county’s budgeting processes. And she put the results of leading with the “why” perfectly:

The communication with our taxpayers and citizens is much clearer, and the time my staff puts in during the budget cycle has been reduced by 100 hours over the three-month process.

One hundred hours isn’t just efficiency; that’s giving your team back weeks of their lives while improving transparency with residents. That’s the kind of win that gets buy-in from even the most change-resistant team members.

Remember: One Win Leads to the Next

Momentum builds when teams experience tangible relief. Will Fuentes, Finance Director of Campbell, California, captured this beautifully:

If you’re able to reduce the time you spend on entry… then you’re also able to take that time that you spent in Excel elsewhere. You can be more strategic, go through your expenses more, and really understand the implications of a new request.

That’s the virtuous cycle in action. Better tools don’t just make existing work easier; they free you up to do the strategic work you were hired to do in the first place.

The Bottom Line

The federal landscape is shifting. Budget uncertainty isn’t going away. But here’s what I know after working with hundreds of local governments: the organizations that thrive won’t be the ones with the biggest budgets or the most resources. They’ll be the ones that embrace strategic, technology-enabled budgeting as a core tool of governance.

You have a choice: react to each crisis as it comes, or build the systems and processes that let you navigate uncertainty with confidence.

The good news is that you’re not alone in this. There’s a growing community of finance leaders who are sharing what works, supporting each other, and proving that modernization isn’t just possible; it’s already happening.

You’re not going first. You’re going next.

Want to see how other local governments are modernizing their budgeting processes? Explore our customer stories to learn from finance leaders who’ve already made the leap.