COUNTY BOARD TO UTILIZE BUDGET SIMULATION TOOL FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION AWARENESS ON DANE COUNTY BUDGET PROCESS
October 14, 2020
County Board Chair Analiese Eicher, (608) 571-6823
County Board
The Dane County Board of Supervisors is once again utilizing the budget simulation tool A Balancing Act. The Board piloted the simulation during last year’s budget process and received quite a bit of feedback that it was a very useful and educational resource.
A Balancing Act is a multi-award winning budget simulation in use by 60 local governments nationwide. With this tool, the public will be able to simulate balancing the 2020 budget. The dollar figures in the simulation are from the actual 2021 Dane County budget proposed by County Executive Parisi.
"We had great involvement from the public last year, the more opportunities we provide for the public to learn and engage with the Board, the better. Hearing spending priorities, especially now, is critical as we navigate the coming year," said County Board Supervisor and Chair of the Personnel and Finance Committee, Patrick Miles (District 34).
Having the opportunity to see what the various departments, divisions, and initiatives do, and to allocate funds for different priorities will give the public additional awareness of how complex Dane County is.
The County Board’s standing committees are currently working on reviewing and recommending approval of amendments to the Personnel and Finance Committee. The schedule for committee budget review is available here: https://countyofdane.com/PressDetail/10732
"We’ve got tough conversations ahead of us. I’m hopeful that this simulation will provide information to the public to facilitate their interest in local government, and the role that Dane County government plays in their day to day lives," said County Board Chair Analiese Eicher. "2020 has shined a light on the critical services the County provides."
Because the County Board is working to increase access to government, and its processes, the simulation was translated into both Hmong and Spanish for this year.
The input received through the simulation will be provided to the Personnel and Finance Committee.
The simulations can be found below, as well as on the County Board’s website.
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