Abstract: When experiencing financial distress, jurisdictions need to take action right away to begin to stabilize the situation. This will provide the breathing room to conduct a detailed diagnosis of the causes of distress and develop a response tailored to the situation. To meet the immediate need for stabilization, the organization can turn to generic retrenchment techniques - techniques that are safe to apply with little or no foregoing diagnosis of the situation, which are especially useful at the start of the recovery process. Generic techniques have the following essential characteristics: • Short time-to-benefit ratio. A yield occurs in a very short period of time. • Not complex. It is easy to understand the short-term benefits and long-term ramifications. It is also easy to explain to others. • Reversible. It can be undone with reasonable effort. Since generic treatments are not applied with much diagnosis, it is better if they can be reversed if needed. For example, a hiring freeze can be lifted, or a new fee can be repealed or reduced.