Balancing Act from Polco

Do you think Metro should add more smart restrooms across the system? Do you want to see more custodians and police officers?  Maybe you’d like to see the station fare gates modernized? Now, you can design your own Metro budget with the award-winning My Metro Budget activity -- an easy-to-use, interactive tool that allows you to customize how our dollars are spent. Explore budget revenues, various expenditures, and the tradeoffs involved in allocating funds. It’s a unique way to take a deep dive into our 95-page upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget book -– which runs from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026 –– and tackle these decisions head-on. Better yet, your insights will help our staff build the budget, which will be considered by the Metro Board of Directors at their meeting next May. Your participation is important in shaping a more equitable and efficient transportation system for LA County. Even better, when you provide your contact information, you'll be automatically entered for a chance to win a $100 TAP card or $50 gift card! https://lnkd.in/didV4Jnm

Polco is hosting Unlocking Resident Participation in City Budgeting. Make sure to attend it tomorrow.

https://lnkd.in/eBqeyZHk

Transparency is essential for building public trust, yet a recent CivicPulse report shows that only 30% of residents feel that local government is transparent about how budget decisions are made! ⚠️ Latest article explores the survey and how governments can close this gap and build trust through smarter, more transparent financial planning with our tools & partners at Euna Solutions. https://lnkd.in/gaHsU23H cc Balancing Act from Polco, Polco, Funkhouser & Associates #PublicSector #ResidentEngagement #CommunityAlignment #Trust #EunaSolutions

So excited to share our Teaching Case with Erica Ceka and Kurt Thurmaier published in the Journal of Public Affairs Education. The case study utilizes the Balancing Act from Polco to expose students to budget constraints that budgeteers must consider during budgeting. The tool also enhances citizen engagement by allowing residents to reallocate resources based on their preferences. Instructors may consider adopting the case study and obtain a free balancing act educator account! Much appreciation to the anonymous journal reviewers, and to our mentor (Kurt) for encouraging Erica and I since our days as doctoral students.

Find out how #LocalGovs like Frederick County Government, Maryland use Polco to engage their communities in shaping the budget. “This survey is another important tool for us to gather feedback from residents. Balancing Act from Polco is an interactive way for people to share what they would like to see in Frederick County’s budget.”  Jessica Fitzwater, County Executive. Read More: https://lnkd.in/eaG8zSnB #PolcoNews #FrederickCounty #PublicEngagement #BalancingAct #ParticipatoryBudgeting #CommunityInvolvement #BudgetPlanning #LocalGovernment #LocalGov #FrederickMD #CountyBudget

We're in our second year of working with Balancing Act from Polco to get our community involved with the annual budget process. Our aim in using the tool is to harness the energy and commitment of our passionate community in co-creating a more responsive and inclusive local government. We appreciated the chance to talk to the Balancing Act team after the first year and share some insights on how the tool has worked for us. You can check out their blog for a rundown of what we're up to: https://lnkd.in/gfkk4J5y. The post features the insights of Hannah B. who led our year one efforts!

GFOA 2024 might be my favorite yet. The public budget/finance profession is poised for amazing growth and advancement, led by the innovative GFOA. Great energy and enthusiasm among attendees, and great camaraderie among fellow govtech companies, especially Envisio, Euna Solutions and Resource Exploration (ResourceX). Special congrats to Shayne Kavanagh for shepherding Rethinking Budgeting through official board adoption. H/T to two of our best clients for sharing how they have used Balancing Act from Polco's innovative tools. Laura Reece showed City of Fort Lauderdale's budget simulation and Nate Reinhardt gave a lesson in budget communication (and smart software acquisition) with Shakopee, Minnesota's award-winning taxpayer receipt. Too many great pics, but here are a few. Polco, Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Garrett Hernandez RimerSamuel Mathias

What do you do when a tight budget forces project and service cuts that many community members love? Collecting resident input can help governments make these tough choices. For instance, the City of Norfolk, VA, faced a big deficit. They collected resident input on how to solve the issue using Balancing Act from Polco's budget simulation tool. Do they cut services? Raise taxes? Read more to learn the outcome: https://hubs.ly/Q02yH0Wf0

Amazing session this week supporting local govs to get traction in their journey towards the aims of Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)'s Rethinking Budgeting initiative. This was one of two national, multi-jurisdictional pilots of the RtB Assessment tool, created through a unique thought leadership partnership (with special leadership from my stellar colleague Michelle Kobayashi.) Other speakers and leaders participating included Shayne Kavanagh, the primary architect behind Rethinking Budgeting, Chris Morrill, Executive Director of GFOA, who is demonstrating new ways for professional associations to serve, Kyle Wedberg, Ph.D., who brings together innovative thinking grounded in local gov experience, David Mitchell, a scholar whose work is pointing the way to smarter local gov budgeting, and Jesse Muñiz, who is on the ground helping govs prioritize their budgets. Special thanks to Dean Paul Teske who continually helps to place University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs (where I am proud to teach) at the forefront of innovation while at the same time serving the needs of public agencies in the state. Unfortunately missing from the day were friends and collaborators Stefan Baerg, Chris Fabian and Elizabeth Steward (hope you feel better!) This day depended on the collaboration of so many organizations including, especially, Polco, Balancing Act from Polco, Envisio, Euna Solutions, and ResourceX by Tyler Technologies. #rethinkingbudeting