INFORMATION IS POWER (CASE STUDY) Soon after her appointment to head a state agency, the new commissioner began her first budget round. She had been appointed to bring her corporate experience, technical expertise, and well- respected financial savvy to agency operations. To identify trends and improve efficiency and accuracy, she wanted to see analyses of her agency's current operations, projections, and forecasts on the revenue her agency will generate through charges and fees. Not wanting to duplicate data collection and analysis, she sent a memorandum to the budget director requesting this information. The new commissioner was surprised when the budget director responded that the information was not available. Some weeks later, the commissioner learned that rough forecasts are routinely prepared and that the budget office had available, online from the comptroller, monthly data on revenues by agency. The commissioner decided to get the needed information by meeting personally with the budget director. At their meeting, the commissioner requested the information again, explaining that she wanted it in order to better prepare her agency's budget. The budget director admitted he did have some of the data she wanted, but he refused to share it with her. He explained that anticipating higher revenues would only feed program expansion in her agency. The way he saw it, "your job is to advocate spending, while mine is to conserve state revenue." What Do You Think? 1. What is the problem here? 2. Why do you think the budget director said no? Does the reason he gave make sense to you?