It’s rare to hear about civic and democratic innovation in public budgeting. Often, the way in which regular capital and operational investment planning occurs tends to limit discussion to particular assets or only a small portion of an overall budget, with a decision-making process that involves very traditional and limited forms of public input and consultation.
The League has spotlighted alternatives in the National Civic Review, specifically how participatory budgeting is being used to engage students and youth, as well as disenfranchised members of society. And recently, there have been exchanges on how to combine broader participation in budget matters alongside more considered deliberation.
The push to embed exemplary practices like participatory budgeting in more cities needs to happen. But we should also learn from practices that are less well known that are striving to get the public thinking about spending priorities in more inclusive and meaningful ways.
For example, two interesting cases that have been working to involve the public in local budgeting processes are from Oakland, CA and Leon County, FL.
Oakland, CA was present as a finalist at the All-America City Awards in June 2024, where they presented their work on enhancing equity within their Capital Improvement Plan. What makes this process interesting from a democratic innovation perspective is how the starting point of the engagement design process was to lessen the degree of racial disparity in the city by rethinking how equity should inform how budget priorities should be invested.
The City Council created a Race and Equity department and a Capital Investment Program (CIP) Working Group to oversee an increase in capital funding (approved by residents) to $600 million in 2016. The 2020-25 CIP was adopted by City Council in 2019 after a rigorous set of data analytics and inclusive prioritization.
The CIP involved partnership with CUNY’s Institute for State and Local Governance to apply an Equity Indicators tool to measure inequity faced by disadvantaged groups. By understanding the state of inequality not only amidst specific demographics but geographically across the city, a CIP Working Group deployed a new prioritization methodology for public input on capital priorities and worked closely with local non-profits to host meetings in areas and distribute surveys with higher portions of lower income families and people of color. Residents were asked to rank projects and provide proposals for capital investment around a new set of budget indicators. Projects were ranked and ultimately awarded on a method that included locations within regions that were disadvantaged, and that elevated themes of Equity, Health/Safety, Economy, Environment, and Improvement.
Example subfactors within the Health/Safety equity indicator in the new CIP:
Source: Prioritizing Community Values in Capital Budgeting.
At the June 2024 GFOA Conference, Leon County co-presented with our Center for Democracy Innovation about best practices for making public engagement fun, interactive, and ultimately something that involves learning how to make important and challenging decisions around the budget.
As part of their Citizen Engagement Series, Leon County’s Office of Management and Budget run annual exercises where the public are invited to participate in a simulation game called Let’s Balance! The objective is to get residents to work together to balance the local budget. The activity runs for 45 minutes and is designed for small group interaction and deliberation.
The game involves a series of priorities that must be balanced against revenues, expenditures, and reserves for incoming crises. The participants assume a variety of roles, including commissioners, sustainability experts, social services staff, economic development professionals, and a resident who is critical.
Leon County residents have an opportunity through the simulation to engage with people from different perspectives about different priorities and ways to raise revenues in different ways (including taxes and licensing fees), and selecting or cutting certain expenditures (like parks, libraries, health).
Image of the board game:
To learn more and even adapt the game to your own context, find all the information and free downloadable templates and instructions here.
The innovative approaches demonstrated by Oakland and Leon County illustrate the potential for transforming public budgeting into a more inclusive and participatory process. By prioritizing equity in Oakland and employing interactive simulations in Leon County, these examples highlight how local governments can engage residents more meaningfully and address disparities more effectively.
