This assignment presents you with an opportunity to apply some of what you have been learned
to this point, review program information, and come up with simple budgets based on known
facts, assumptions, and projections.
The subject of this assignment is the Day Care Comes to Northville case which accompanies this
memorandum. You will complete and submit Part 1 which is on page 3. (Part 2 is omitted from
your copy of the case.)
You will prepare budgets as required by the case study. You will submit your base and adjusted
budgets in Excel spreadsheet tables showing your calculations. Budgeting involves assumptions
and you will identify your assumptions in developing the budgets either in a worksheet or a
separate Word listing. (Note that the information given in the case, such as the cost for health
care is not your assumption, it is a parameter of the case study.) You will also write a one-page
memorandum in Word to Mayor Spark about the budget you create.
I recommend that you first read through this assignment and then carefully read through Part 1
before you start working on your budgets. Be sure to identify all the required elements and make
sure that you address each. (You may want to make a checklist for yourself as you read through
the materials.)
In preparing your budget, begin by making a list of known information from the case. (For
example, the starting enrollment, enrollment growth, child/staff ratio, etc.) Then, identify all the
assumptions that you make and the basis for the assumptions. Do not include the known
information from the case (I often refer to them as the givens or the parameters of the case)
in your list of assumptions. In this regard, keep in mind that you must make certain assumptions
when preparing a budget, even a simple budget like this. Information is often incomplete and
PPUA 6505: Public Budgeting and Financial Management Online Fall 2022
Day Care Comes to Northville assignment Page 2
imperfect. It is important that each assumption: 1) be reasonable given what is known, and 2)
be clearly identified and explained.
Your memorandum must be no more than one page in length (the page limitation places a
responsibility on you to determine what is most important to communicate to the Mayor; be
clear and concise) and formatted like this memorandum (single spaced, one blank space between
paragraphs, one-inch margins, 12 point type) in Word or PDF. (I have a strong preference for
Word over PDF format because I am able to provide more feedback using Words review tools.)
I will not be able to work with other formats (such as Pages.)
In grading this assignment, I will consider the following:
Is your work complete, in that you addressed all elements and of the assignment and all
factors in the case within the constraints of the assignment?
Is your analysis clear, in that you provide the required information in spreadsheets that
are well organized and easy to follow and understand?
Are your assumptions identified and reasonable given the information in the case?
Is your analysis accurate, in that your calculations are correct and supported by the
information in the case? (Be sure to include your formulas for your calculations, not as a
separate listing but in your workbook cells.)
Is your memorandum clear, concise, and accurate in that it addresses the assignment,
does not exceed the page limitation, is well organized, written using conventions of the
English language, and is appropriate for the intended audience (the mayor)?
Is your work timely, in that it was submitted on tim
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