historic moment for Bermuda and will be closely watched. The Royal Gazette's Nicole Williams Smith takes a look at the Budget big- picture -- what it means to the average person, where the new PLP Government's fiscal policies are going and how they are translated into action. She files this report.

If you think balancing your cheque book is an ordeal, imagine balancing the budget of a country.

Today, Bermudians will receive an historic Budget -- the first by a Progresssive Labour Party Government and the last before the beginning of the new millennium.

Budgets are basically a detailed financial plan that incorporates a government's policies and priorities for a given year. The document also tells the public how the government intends to kick in for their programmes.

More than 30 years ago in the spring of 1968, the first United Bermuda Party Government assumed responsibility for the economy on behalf of the Bermudian people.

Since then, the budget has been brought forth in the House of Assembly via the Appropriation Bill which authorises the Minister of Finance to spend money from the Consolidated Fund.

All Government income and spending is deposited and withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund -- it is similar to a household chequing account.

And just like any growing family, over the years, the size and complexity of Bermuda's budget has increased by leaps and bounds.

Former Budget officer and St. George's North MP, Delaey Robinson, said the Throne Speech is perhaps the best indicator of a budget's overall direction: "Budgets give a government the resources to do the things stated in the Throne Speech,'' explained the 17-year finance veteran. "The Throne Speech is a good indicator.'' But he said pundits should not look to a Finance Minister for any other clues as to new policies -- such as new taxes -- as to what will be in the Budget -- they, like all Bermudians, must wait until around 10.30 this morning.

"A Finance Minister never lets that cat out of the bag,'' he pointed out.

"And the civil servants are good at keeping the Budget a secret.'' Any financial/political document which deals with an estimated half a billion dollars is bound to be lengthy and complicated -- an intimidating prospect for those outside the financial arena.

But understanding it need not be a harrowing experience; there are ways to sort through a budget without sifting through countless graphs, charts and figures.

The director of Budget, Geoff Bell, said locals who want just the pertinent facts should merely examine the Finance Minister's budget statement.

"It is probably better to stick to the Minister's statement and review the key numbers that are immediately behind the text of his statement,'' he explained. "That way you can get an overview.'' Copies of the statement can be purchased from the Government Administration Building on Parliament Street in Hamilton.

Budgets are delivered in February so that the Parliament can pass the legislation in time for Government's new fiscal year -- which begins every April 1.

Mr. Bell said the architects of Bermuda's Constitution even set out a plan of action in the unlikely case that both institutions do not get the Budget passed into law before the end of March.

"This has never happened, but there is a provision in the Constitution in case the Budget does not get passed in time,'' he said.

"A temporary spending measure could theoretically go into effect for a few months, but a Budget would have to be passed by July. It's a safety net.'' Few people realise the amount of work and time that goes into preparing the Island's Budget every year.

"It takes about six to eight months to put one together,'' Mr. Robinson revealed. "It is an amazingly long-winded process.'' Mr. Bell added: "From our perspective, it's about a nine month process. We do a training session in July with the Budget people from various departments to refresh their minds and show them the new framework for the upcoming Budget.

"Around August they will start keying their numbers in.'' While a team from the Finance department works on the estimates, Mr. Robinson said the Finance Minister receives input from his political colleges and various top civil servants.

Once the finished product is ready, the Finance Minister will sign off on it and the Budget is sent off to the press.

"A couple of hundred copies get printed,'' Mr. Robinson added.

But few of those copies actually find their way into the hands of average Bermudians since few locals fancy venturing into the complex and highly-detailed document.

Instead, Mr. Robinson said the average Bermudian tends to zero-in on the details that impact their daily life.

"The business man, big or small, will be concerned about the cost of doing business in Bermuda,'' he said. "So they will be looking at taxes.

"Homeowners will be concerned about if it is going to cost them more to keep their households going. They will be looking for changes in land taxes, duty on household items, etc.'' While most Bermudians will focus only on sections of the entire Budget, parliamentarians will spend the next few weeks dissecting the document page by page.

"The Minister of Finance will give his speech and then the Opposition will give its budget reply one week later,'' Mr. Robinson explained. "Two days will be set aside for an economic debate. Every member in the House will be have an opportunity, if they so choose, to talk about the budget in general.

"You will have a lot of philosophical debate throughout those two days.'' Once the general debate is finished, The House will go into the Committee of Supply for a detailed look at each Government department's allowance for the last year of the 20th century.

Finally the budget (referred to in the House as the Appropriation Bill) will be read a third time and passed by the House of Assembly.

But the `nickel and diming' is not over yet -- the whole process will be repeated when the Budget goes to the Senate for debate.

Mr. Bell pointed out that the Senate cannot stop a Budget, but over the years, Budgets have been modified during the Parliamentary process, but never rejected.

"I'm not aware of any occasions when a Budget has been rejected,'' he said.

"But there was an occasion where there was a public outcry and it forced the Finance Minister to restrict some tax increases.

"It was the 1990/91 Budget and at some point during the debate, the estimates were changed as a result of protest marches.'' Like any household, the Government sometimes finds itself in need of money to acquire big-ticket, expensive items -- like an incinerator or a prison.

To finance these projects the Government will get a loan from an overseas source.

"A government borrows for two reasons, one is to meet it's capital expenditure,'' Mr. Robinson explained. "For example, to build a school will cost more than can be raised in one given year. So you borrow and pay back the loan over the course of time.

"But there are limits to what the local government can borrow $180 million.'' Mr. Robinson added: "A government will also undertake short-term borrow, to keep the government running when the revenue is not enough to meet its needs.'' But Mr. Bell pointed out that Bermuda has been very diligent in balancing its day-to-day operation costs.

"The Bermuda Government has always balanced its current accounts, its day-to-day operations,'' he said. "When the Government embarked on a capital project, like building the incinerator or the prison, there has been limited, controlled borrowing -- I think the current debt is approximately $160 million.

"Our debt cannot go beyond 10 percent of our Gross National Product, which is the total revenue or activity on the Island,'' Mr. Bell added. "Other countries have debt that is often in the mid 20's and some have debt that is 40 to 50 percent of their GDP.

"So we aren't doing too bad.'' Illustrations by Corrina Rego Anyway you slice it: The Budget is nothing short of a fine balancing act.

Carving up Government's estimated $500-million in spending this year falls to Eugene Cox, who has been graced with a healthy balance sheet left by his predecessor, Dr. Grant Gibbons.