My meeting with the two newly elected officials will begin by congratulating them on their new positions and informing them of the honor that has been bestowed upon them as new members of the city council. I would then move on to a discussion on the concept of social equity and inform them of their moral obligations as city council members to be fair, honest and equal. I would then spend time discussing Rawl's Theory of Justice and highlight his use of the Veil of Ignorance when discussing the business of the City, i.e. the budget, tax rates and the passing of ordinances. The meeting would then move to a discussion of the city's budget situation when I was appointed city manager and my view of the purpose of a budget. Purpose of BudgetingGovernment agencies are often thought of as an operation of collecting taxes, purchasing resources, using resources, and performing tasks. And in its broadest form, it is a government organization. However, such tasks must be financed and are through a budget. The purpose of a budget is to provide a tool for determining what services the government will provide and how each service will be financed. The budget provides the government and its taxpayers with the means to identify these operating costs for a given year. The budget should be seen less as a spending forecast and more as a representation of the costs each organization will accrue from providing its public services. Of course, the balance sheet does much more than provide monetary transactions. The following are the functions of a budget that are often overlooked but serve as the main purpose in creating a budget management tool. Every activity carried out by the government is financed through the budget. This allows managers to assemble the core portion of the document, then further break it down into individual line item accounts. In most cases, the budget will also include the previous three years' budget allocations. This contributes to transparency by showing the public specifically which items are being reduced or increased. Budget Philosophy My meeting with the new board members would conclude with a discussion of my budget philosophy. This philosophy is the commitment to provide the best quality of service to the city's residences at the lowest possible cost. Public employees have a duty to the citizens who pay their taxes to provide the best service available because it is the citizens who make their work possible. I would end the meeting by asking council members how long they believe a private company would stay in business if it provided an inferior product and ask them if that's what they want from their city.