Case Study: City of Lawrence, Kansas educates residents and improves budget engagement with Polco's Balancing Act

City of Lawrence, Kansas engages nearly 300 residents with Polco's Balancing Act

The City of Lawrence, Kansas, faced the challenge of engaging its residents in its complex budget process and building understanding of the difficult trade-offs involved. To demystify the budget, the city used the Balancing Act budget simulation software from vendor Polco.

Polco's solution involved creating service-level rubrics within the software to translate budgetary changes into tangible service impacts for the public. This innovative approach yielded nearly 300 community responses, providing clear data that showed a priority for affordable housing and homelessness programs. The result was a quieter, less controversial budget season, with the city directly acting on the feedback by allocating funds to a new homeless programs department.

City of Lawrence, Kansas