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BUDGETCYCLESChapter 353Public budgeting systems, which are devices for selecting societal ends andmeans, consist of numerous participants and various processes that bring the par-ticipants into interaction. As described in preceding chapters, the purpose ofbudgeting is to allocate scarce resources among competing public demands so asto attain societal goals and objectives. Those societal ends are expressed not byphilosopher kings but by mortals who must operate within the context of someprescribed allocation process namely, the budgetary Chapter provides an overview of the participants and processes involved inbudgetary decision making. First, the phases of the budget cycle are reviewed. Anysystem has some structure or form, and budgetary systems are no exception. As willbe seen, the decision-making process has several steps.

54 Chapter 3: Budget Cycles Preparation and Submission The preparation and submission phase is the most difficult to describe because it has been subjected to the most reform efforts.

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