Cook County, IL supports budget-conscious buying decisions with its Furniture Cost Estimation Tool
The Furniture Cost Estimation Tool houses information about furniture options from approved vendors. Agencies are guided to the best-available options based on their needs, available space, and current budgets. The county's Budget Department uses the tool in evaluating annual budgets for furniture purchases. This in-house resource nudges buyers toward eco-friendly and low-cost options while meeting the needs of county departments.
Cook County, IL
United States
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, GB asks for budget feedback with online simulator
Council officials sought resident suggestions on how to reduce borough expenses by £38 million for a balanced 2023-2024 budget. Simulator users toggled subcategories of six budget areas including Adult Social Care & Health, Neighbourhood Services, and Regeneration. The toggle feature allowed budget reductions of up to 75%. A running total of budget savings turned from red to green when the user achieved a balanced budget.
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, GB
United Kingdom
Saanich, BC seeks public input on proposed Financial Plan with budget education tool
Saanich used the Ethelo platform to build a budget education tool for its 2023-2027 Financial Plan. Local residents enter their assessed property value and find out what taxes are collected and how they are used. The tool educates users in eight budget categories and shows how budget increases or decreases impact their property taxes. District officials will consult resident suggestions and comments on budget explainers when finalizing the plan.
Saanich, BC
Canada
Cook County, IL devotes federal ARPA funding to the nation's largest public guaranteed income pilot
The two-year Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot distributes $500 monthly payments to selected participants. A random drawing narrowed a pool of 233,000 applicants to 3,250 recipients across 17 commissioner districts. There are no conditions placed on recipients' use of monthly payments with financial counseling available from Working Credit. Participants in the $42 million program have a median household income of $21,000 and 58% of households include children.
Cook County, IL
United States
Windsor, ON generates public feedback on budget deliberations with trio of online tools
Local residents make their voices heard about the 10-year capital plan with Prioritize. This easy-to-use tool allows a user to rank their top five capital project areas from eight categories. The Operating Budget Simulation seeks taxpayer suggestions for spending increases or decreases with a focus on a balanced budget. Homeowners can input their municipal property tax payments into the Tax Receipt Generator for itemized estimates of public expenditures.
Windsor, ON
Canada
View Royal, BC Budget Variance Dashboard simplifies comparisons of budgeted and actual spending
The Microsoft Power BI dashboard displays dollar and percentage variances in operating revenues and expenses. A bar graph and spreadsheet in each tab use color-coded labels to identify areas over or under budget. The Non-core and Capital Projects sections show all projects for the selected budget year along with progress notes. Residents and decision-makers can evaluate View Royal's financial stewardship for the previous four fiscal years within the dashboard.
View Royal, BC
Canada
Birmingham, AL prepares students for their financial futures with BHM Financial Freedom Project
The city approved $1 million for a partnership with Birmingham City Schools, Goalsetter, and IMC Financial Consulting. Students at six schools learn about topics like taxes, budgeting, and cryptocurrency during in-class lessons from IMC educators. Parents and teachers benefit from free personalized consultations and financial empowerment fairs. This first-in-the-country program builds good financial habits through Goalsetter's savings and investment features.
Birmingham, AL
United States
Crawford County, PA created a COVID-19 Pandemic Response website for funding transparency
Crawford County created a pandemic response website to show the public how the county is spending federal and state COVID-19 funding. The Crawford County COVID-19 Pandemic Response website provides a summary of the programs that distributed federal COVID-19 resources, the amount of resources received by Crawford County, and the status of programs and projects funded to prevent, prepare, and respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crawford County, PA
United States
Maricopa County, AZ Budget Analyst Essentials Suite offers virtual finance training for employees
The county's Office of Budget and Finance sought an online training solution when COVID-19 limited office access. The BAES consists of modules about the budgeting process, forecasting, and accounting procedures. New employees were brought up to speed on county financial functions through videos, presentations, and reading materials. Maricopa County further developed the suite years into the pandemic to support flexible work arrangements.
Maricopa County, AZ
United States
Fulton County, GA approves FulCo Bonus program as incentive for improved employee performance
The FulCo Bonus is awarded to employees based on increased customer satisfaction ratings. Internal reviews of improved customer experiences focus on the percentage of achieved key performance indicators (KPI). County officials then calculate the share of bonus funds for employees involved in KPI success based on this percentage. Fulton County uses the money saved through employee engagement and retention for ongoing funding of the bonus program.
Fulton County, GA
United States
Gualeguaychú, ER is the first in the country to launch a Participatory Budget for Sexual Diversity
The Municipality of Gualeguaychú is the first in the country to launch a Participatory Budget for Sexual Diversity. The new community participation program was designed to finance projects aimed at LGBTIQ+ people, civil society organizations, and institutions. Any residents over the age of 18 can participate through assemblies of proposal presentations where they can give their opinions, debate, and decide the priorities of the city.
Gualeguaychú, ER
Argentina
Surrey County Council, GB reinforces staff knowledge of public finances with its Financial Academy
A 2018 review calling for improved financial management led to the creation of a Financial Academy. Elected officials and managers with budgeting responsibilities were in the program's first cohort. Videos, case studies, and short assignments create expectations for how decision-makers deploy public funds. The Financial Academy was then opened to all council employees, thus creating a culture of financial responsibility across departments and roles.
Surrey County Council, GB
United Kingdom