Exploring within-year budget adjustments in small to medium-size cities in West Virginia

This study examined within-year budget execution based on data from small and medium-sized cities in West Virginia, cities of a size not previously examined. Revisions tended to increase the overall budget moderately, but later revisions decreased final outlays to less than the revised amounts and generally closer to originally budgeted appropriations. This pattern occurred despite increasing actual revenues in excess of forecasted, thus creating surpluses. Although changes were moderate overall, substantial changes occurred in the proportions of the total budget at the departmental level, particularly for smaller departments. Budget adjustments in smaller departments generally increased budgeted amounts through revisions but decreased them to final outlays; the opposite was true of larger departments which retained a more consistent share of the budget. These observed patterns suggest future research questions.