I’ve never understood the ‘use it or lose it’ budget.
You certainly wouldn’t run your home like that.
Not using it should be rewarded not punished. It would be saner to return excess to the tax payers. It’s also insane to punish for not using everything.
I always liked the military unit efficiency model.
Commanders will do whatever they can to run their outfits with the same or fewer number or people, and same or lesser budget, as the previous commander.
If you ask for more, you’re labeled as inefficient, because the previous commander completed the mission the same resources.
Not sure about reducing budget or personnel. While it might make your superior look good, at the branch level, it’s probably frowned upon to reveal you can do the same job with less resources.