Zero-Based Budgeting

The purpose of the zero-based budget analysis is to assess individual programs against their statutory responsibilities, purpose, cost to provide services, and outcomes achieved in order to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of the program and its activities.

The ZBB review process formalizes the work inherent in OPB budget analysis and provides a systematic review and reporting of the activities, performance and expenditures of the programs in the state budget. The ZBB document is a summary of the information gathered and analyzed by OPB as part of our ZBB reviews. The document includes four sections for each program reviewed:

1. Narrative Summary of Analysis: This section offers an overview of the program, summarizes OPB’s analysis and provides recommendations for future review or changes to the program budget and operations.
2. Key Activities: This section lists the program’s key activities and provides its authority, number of positions, and state and total funds budgeted.
3. Financials: This section provides a summary of the program expenditures and budget. The section lists two years of expenditures and the current fiscal year budget.
4. Performance Measures: This section lists agency purpose, the program purpose, and a set of measures for the program.