Talking about city finances and the budget can be difficult. But city leaders should provide good, clear information to the citizens they serve. Dr. Scott Paine, former city councilmember, noted author, professor and league blogger, offers some suggestions on ways to discuss your city's budget. Please click on the video to view.
Talking About Your City Budget: Tips for Public Engagement
As an elected official of one of Florida’s 410 cities, one of your most important tasks is to educate residents about how their municipal tax dollars are being spent. However, your lesson extends well beyond dollars and cents. It includes ensuring that residents understand the tough choices being made as their city works to balance its budget, as well as how important it is for them to get involved through public participation in the budget process.
It can be intimidating to engage the public in talks about the complexities of a city budget. However, it is very important that the public is consulted at the beginning of the budget decision-making process, rather than after the fact, so that the city can have the benefit of their input.
When you speak with city residents and civic groups about the budget, there are several tips that have proved helpful in such public outreach efforts:
Zero in on the key issues.
Begin with the end in mind. Focus on the message you most want to convey. Did your city cut taxes last year? Do you need public support for a specific city funding issue or tax-related matter? Or are you just providing general information about the overall budget?
Share a few sentences on what your council or commission discussions have entailed. What are your city’s top three or four priority issues for this year?
Most residents are unfamiliar with the health of their city’s finances, so you may want to start with an overall statement of the city’s fiscal situation to set the stage for discussions regarding priorities.
Use charts and graphs to visually explain both where the city’s money comes from and how it is spent.
One good tool is a dollar bill spliced into various categories. For example:
• Revenues: Property tax, intergovernmental revenue, sales tax, utility tax, business license tax, telecommunications tax, franchise fees, charges for service, user fees
• Expenditures: Road building and maintenance, utilities, police, fire, water, sewer, parks and recreation, administration
Show your constituents how the city budget relates to them.
Explain that the budget is more than a list of numbers – it is a planning document that reflects your city’s priorities. It is a plan that helps determine your residents’ quality of life. It is a plan that shows how the city is living up to the obligations required by state law and the city charter. And it is a history and summary of the city’s fiscal legacy.
Explain your city’s budget calendar and how residents can participate and make their voices heard before decisions are made, rather than after. If cuts will need to be made, announce that cuts for all programs are on the table, but explain that you want residents to participate in a forum to let you know what they think. Don’t assume that they know what’s happening in city hall. It is important to reach out to bring city hall to your constituents.
Compare the services your city provides with something residents can relate to. For instance, the average homeowner pays $850 a year to fund his or her city, compared to more than $1,000 a year for cable television or cell phone service. For less than the annual cost of cable television, residents and businesses receive round-the-clock law enforcement and fire protection, as well as publicly maintained city roads, parks and a high quality of life.
Remember, however, that when using an average, you need to identify it as such to avoid criticism from those who may pay more due to higher property values.
Whenever possible, speak about spending in per capita terms, rather than sticking to budget top lines. A city budget that spends $700 per resident to fund transportation, public safety, parks and recreation, and other services is easier to place in context than a $200 million spending plan – even if the numbers represent the same budget.
Shine a spotlight on key city services.
Many of a city’s most important services, such as water systems and sewer pipes, wastewater treatment and stormwater management, are invisible to the average resident. Other services may be invisible to people who don’t depend on them, such as 24-hour police and fire dispatch, road maintenance projects and youth recreation programs. It is wise to work to remind constituents of the services their tax dollars are funding and how these services affect their family, friends and neighbors.
Be sure to explain the importance of the city’s capital budget. These long-term programs are not day-to-day administrative costs for the city but are infrastructure projects that will have an extended life and will prevent problems in the future.
Explain the challenges your city must overcome.
Help constituents understand the challenges facing your city. With property valuation declines, job losses, foreclosures and other economic factors, how can your city balance the need to provide vital services with the desire to keep taxes as low as possible?
Talk about costs that have risen for your city. Have insurance costs become more expensive? Is gasoline for fleet vehicles less affordable? Have contractual costs for a service provider such as a county sheriff’s office or ambulance operator risen faster than inflation? Does your city have any options to achieve savings, or is there no realistic alternative to paying these increased costs?
Explain and provide examples of the unfunded mandates cities are facing from the state and federal governments. When one level of government requires another to implement a service or program, it may be a good idea (such as increased water quality testing for city water systems), but because funding doesn’t accompany the mandate, it too often forces a shift in the tax burden onto local property owners. Speak about the requirements that tie your city’s hands, and explain how little of your city’s spending is truly discretionary.
Also explain your city’s pension and benefits situation. Has your city negotiated union issues? Is your pension obligation being funded over several years? This is a complicated issue to explain, but your bottom line should be that failure to adequately fund existing city pension obligations today would only lead to more serious problems in the future.
Address long-term budget issues.
Does your city have reserves? Explain why are they needed, and at what level the reserve policy has been set.
Explain debt payments if your city has them: Are these payments utility-related? Do you have bonds to repay?
Provide a solid wrap-up and a strong follow-up.
Summarize the changes your city has made this year. Were programs or services reduced across the board, or were cuts focused on only a few areas? Do some factors remain unknown and make your budget difficult to predict, such as a prolonged union negotiation, the status of a federal grant, or an intergovernmental contract with your county?
Taking questions at civic meetings regarding complex budget issues can be difficult, as you likely will not be in a position to rattle off line-item details. Be sure to link audience members with city staff so they can follow up with specific information.
If you tell a citizen that you will get back to him or her with information you don’t immediately have at hand, do it.
Embrace transparency and put your budget online.
Your city should make sure that key budget information is available on its website. At a minimum, this includes:
• The calendar of your city’s budget-making process;
• Information on how residents can get involved, participate and make their voices heard;
• A pie chart of city revenues for the past fiscal year;
• A pie chart of city expenses for the past fiscal year;
• The mayor or manager’s budget transmission letter; and
• A summary of fund categories for multiple years. However, be sure to include footnotes to explain any significant year-over-year change. (For example, if one year public works expenses have doubled because of repairs following a hurricane, it is important to let the public know the reason for the increase.)
For more information, contact Lynn Tipton, director of membership development for the Florida League of Cities, by phone at 1-(800) 342-8112 or via e-mail at
ltipton@flcities.com.