WINDFALL REVENUES: NEW EXPERIENCES FOR CUT-BACK MANAGERS

Abstract

Windfall revenues, generally unexpected and unplanned incomes, are becoming a more frequent occurrence in state and local governments. After two decades of cutback management and doing more-with-less, state and local government administrators find themselves unprepared for the current fiscal environment of unexpected and unplanned surplus revenues. Thus, little current literature dealing with windfall revenue management, beyond descriptive case studies, is available to administrators and policy makers as they grapple with decisions on how to expend these revenues. This paper summarizes the available literature on windfall revenue management and forwards recommendations for the management of windfall income.