Fiscal First Aid Resource Center

Fiscal First Aid

What is Fiscal First Aid?

To help local governments deal with the many short-term and long-term financial challenges, the GFOA has a provided a program called Fiscal First Aid. Fiscal First Aid is the process of recognizing, arresting, and reversing a pattern of financial decline. GFOA has put this page together as a central resource for local government finance officers. At the core of this program are the Three Stages of Recovery: Bridge, Reform, and Transform. In Bridge, the goal is to avert immediate crises. In Reform, the goal is to balance the budget without making things worse in the long-run. And in Transform, the goal is to come back better, stronger, and more resilient than before.

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12-Step Fiscal First Aid Recovery Process

Step 1: Recognition
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Step 2: Mobilize
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Step 3: Generic Treatments
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Step 4: Initial Diagnosis
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Step 5: Near-Term Treatments
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Step 6: Detailed Diagnosis
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Step 7: Recovery Plan
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Step 8: Long-Term Treatments
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Step 9: Long-Term Financial Planning
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Step 10: Recovery Leadership
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Step 11: Manage the Recovery Process
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Step 12: The Outcome of Recovery
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Fiscal First Aid

Diagnosing the Financial Condition of Your Local Government Step 4 of GFOA's Fiscal First Aid Financial Recovery Process

Recovering from financial distress requires local governments to assess where actions are appropriate. GFOA’s Fiscal First Aid: A 12-Step Process for Financial Recovery identifies two kinds of diagnoses that are part of the recovery process. The first kind, and the subject of this paper, is an initial diagnosis focused on technical, financial elements of the local government. It is important to understand these elements early in the recovery process. This is Step 4 in the GFOA recovery process.

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Balancing the Budget Research Papers

Cash is King: Short-Term Strategies to Slow the Flow of Money Out the Door and Keep the Budget Balanced

Governments need to make sure they have enough cash on hand for essential services. One of the first things local governments should do is slow the net flow of cash out the door.

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Balancing the Budget in Bad Times - Part 1: Primary Treatments for Reducing Cost and Enhancing Revenues in the Next 12 to 18 months

The decision-making environment for Near-Term Treatments. These are things leaders can do to shape the environment to help reach the best decisions about how, when, and why to use Near-Term Treatments.

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Balancing the Budget in Bad Times - Part 2: Riskier Treatments for Reducing Cost and Enhancing Revenues in the Next 12 to 18 Months

Governments facing a drop in revenues, increases in expenditures, spikes in demand for services, and loss of capacity will likely have to consider some riskier techniques.

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Additional Resources

Podcasts

GFOA podcasts are available for download from the Materials Library and offer guidance on working with elected officials, decision making under uncertainty, and cyber-security

Recorded Training Sessions

All Fiscal First Aid webinars are recorded and posted for free for GFOA members in the Materials Library. View over 15 different training sessions on Fiscal First Aid for your government.

Elected Officials Guide to Fiscal First Aid

This publication aims to help public officials navigate through these challenging economic times. The booklet covers three basic stages of financial recovery

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