City on the Line: How Baltimore Transformed Its Budget to Beat the Great Recession and Deliver Outcomes [Hardcover]

In City on the Line, former Baltimore budget director Andrew Kleine asks why the way government does its most important job  deciding how to spend taxpayer dollars  hasnt changed in hundreds of years. Parts memoir, manifesto, and manual, this book tells the story of Baltimores radical departure from traditional line item budgeting to a focus on outcomes like better schools, safer streets, and stronger neighborhoodsduring one of the most tumultuous decades in the citys history. Elected officials, executives, and citizens alike will be equipped to transform budgets in their city, state, or any other mission-driven organization.Andrew Kleine is a nationally recognized leader in municipal finance and performance management. He served as Baltimores budget director from 2008 to 2018, after nearly 15 years of federal government service that included budget and policy positions in the U.S. Department of Transportation, White House Office of Management and Budget, and Corporation for National and Community Service. He now consults with local governments on budgeting for outcomes, long-term financial planning, Lean Government, and pension and health benefit reform.

In our work at Harvard on innovation in government we look for important expert contributions that will assist practitioners. City on the Line is one of the best and a call to action for leaders of every political stripe to think differently - very differently - about how tax dollars are spent. Stephen Goldsmith, former Mayor of Indianapolis, former Chair of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and Professor of Government at the John F. Kennedy of Government at Harvard University

Andrew Kleines reflections on his ten tumultuous years at the helm of Baltimores budget office have resulted in the best how to book for a budget director Ive ever read. Mark Funkhouser, Publisher of Governing Magazine and former Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

City on the Line puts a human l.