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Presentation on Balancing Act Budget Simulation and Taxpayer Receipt Software Demo Copyrighted December 3, 2018 City of Dubuque Action Items # 4. ITEM TITLE: Presentation on Balancing Act Budget Simulation and Taxpayer Receipt Software SUMMARY: Budget Director Jennifer Larson will give a presentation on the Balancing Act Budget Simulation and Taxpayer Receipt Software. SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Presentation ATTACHMENTS: Description Type NNM Memo City Manager Memo Staff Memo Staff Memo Balancing Act Tp Sheet Supporting Documentation Dubuque THE CTTY OF � DT T� r All-AmericaCiry U t� Masterpiece on the Mississippi 1 I I I Im' zom•zorz•zoie•zov TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Presentation on Balancing Act Budget Simulation and Taxpayer Receipt Software DATE: November 27, 2018 Budget Director Jennifer Larson will give a presentation on the Balancing Act Budget Simulation and Taxpayer Receipt Software at the December 3, 2018 City Council meeting. � Mic ael C. Van Milligen MCVM:jml Attachment cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Jennifer Larson, Budget Director Dubuque THE CTTY OF � DT T� r All-AmericaCiry U � Masterpiece on the Mississippi 1 I I I Im' zom.zmz•zma.zoi; TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Jennifer Larson, Budget Director SUBJECT: Presentation on Balancing Act Budget Simulation and Taxpayer Receipt Software DATE: November 27, 2018 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this memorandum is to request to give a presentation at the December 3, 2018 City Council meeting on the Balancing Act Budget Simulation software. BACKGROUND During Fiscal Year 2019, the City purchased Balancing Act Budget Simulation software as a way to increase community engagement in the budget process. Balancing Act is a web application that displays a straightForward pie chart of a city's budget, broken down into categories like parks and recreation, police, and library. It is an accessible, comprehensive yet simple way to demonstrate financial transparency and accountability. There are in-depth, aggregated data reports on resident budget priorities, including qualitative feedback. It is optimized for the complexity of public budgets and is not simply a discussion forum. DISCUSSION The Balancing Act application invites users to change the budget, expressing their own priorities, all while keeping the city's budget balanced. If a citizen wants to provide more funding to a program, the application will show the property tax impact of making that decision. Balancing Act provides a way for people to both understand what public entities are doing and then to weigh that against the other possible things that a government can do. The Balancing Act budget simulation gives users the basics about the budget and then allows those who want to dive deeper to do so via clickable "More info" icons and pop-up windows with embeddable links to outside information. The budget simulator challenges residents to actively balance their own version of the city's budget, subject to the same constraints that City Council members have. The Balancing Act Taxpayer Receipt is another component of Balancing Act that is an easy, effective way to demonstrate to residents that their money is being put to good use. The Taxpayer Receipt breaks down taxes and shows where the money goes, demonstrates how efficiently services are delivered, and is a great way to connect residents to the budget simulation. REQUEST I respectfully request to give a presentation of the Balancing Act Budget Simulation and Taxpayer Receipt software at the December 3, 2018 City Council meeting. 2 Balance Your Own Version of Dubuque's City Budget THE CITY OF DUB E 3 easy steps to learn & participate in the Fiscal Year 2020 budget process: Masterpiece on the MississiVE�i 1 Generate your taxpayer receipt Instructions below � � � � � 2 Decide if our priorities are right. Do you have different ideas of how to spend? 3 Provide your feedback with our Balanced Budget simulation. Instructions on the reverse side. IView your taxpayer receipt at: http://bit.ly/2019TaxpayerReceipt Step 1 : Answer a few simple questions The taxpayer receipt reflects Whaf's your annual income?9 only estimated funds collected and used by the ��" � " City. Whafs your age? What percentage of your shapping for goods and products do you do within the locality? ` � Click the information Do you own a home? Yes �;Jo button for a link to Beacon, Whatisthetazablevalueofyourprimaryresidenc�?0 theCityassessor'spage. Search for your address to �w��,o,=,�a„��e, find the assessed value of qAAa ,h., your home. Step 2: Check out your estimated taxpayer receipt IQ 0 � Share this cool tool with your friends&familyl Public Safety 5450.92 Police e $'S0.35 I Fire e $1]1.45 Emergency Communicakions Cenker (E911) e $IB.Ifi Building Code Enforcemenk e $9.Sfi Your total is at the Emergency Management e $1.41 bottom. Click the Click thep information icon to information V view the split between Health and Social Services 517.89 property and sales tax button to view what is included in "°"a^ R�9n`� e se.a= tne expense Hea.th 5e�:,.�e� - TDTAL : $8Z5 . Z3 Use the budget simulation to balance the City budget at: bit.ly/2020DBQBudgetlnput The City budget is a balancing act. Use our budget simulation to try it yourself at: bit.ly12020DBQBudgetlnput Step 1 : Learn about Revenue and Spending >- - More Informafion � Ci�IC�(t�lE II1fOfIT18t1011 f IncluaesAtlminlsiratloq Communlry Onen[e�etl Polinng_Ctlminal icon for to view what is Investi ation_Patroland Staff Public Safefy:$29.bm � IIIC�UC'�BC'� Ill thB 81710UI1t � g�iyic�s_Autnonzedstrength-1o9 S:,cm 9�aR_119.56 Tull�ime �� Polite:$15.Sn 0 $155m e4�ivalents. e SOAO i � � $i5.5m Click More Details i�:ioreDetalis for more information, statistics & photos Poi��=:s�ssm e Step 2: Answer Scenario Questions C�Uure and Recrea�ion:51�Jr Q Some categories include scenario questions on budget options for you to vote on your preference. Notice how F��e Fia9,a��ce�re,:s9s,,sooe ssa,soo choosing different options will impact the budget. so 00 Wha�oplionforthe Five Flags Civic $981 500 Cenfershoold beselected? Chaose one. Step 3: Adjust spending and revenue categories & provide comments Increase budget amount O P�blic SaFety:$29.bm � O Click comment to leave Police:$15.5m S155i�i Decrease budget amount � � A e your input on the budget � sa co Reset to original budget � � � 5155m � amount Click Share to share on social media or Email O e $26_Sm e Property Taxes: lOS9°�6 rale a 50.00 Adjusting the Property Tax Rate on the Revenue side is one option for � $26 sm offsetting increased spending Step 4: Submit a Balanced Budget The indicator tells you how much Yo�are in deAcir. I money you need to adjust to get in balance.The City of Dubuque is "" required by law to submit a balanced budget. Is�bm�r I Submit your budget to let us knowwhat you think! Budgets are submitted anonymously and -' - demographic exit questions are optional View your taxpayer receipt at: http://bit.ly/2019TaxpayerReceipt �Ht��Y�� Questions on Balancing Act or want to a request a group presentation of the DUB E software? Contact the Budget Office at 563-589�110 Mast�rp;��o�� rt�e M�s��Gs+�p�