If you’ve ever tried to explain a city budget to the public—and watched eyes glaze over—you’re not alone.
Government budgets are complex, technical, and often misunderstood. But here’s the truth: Budgets are moral documents. They reveal what a community values, what it’s willing to invest in, and what trade-offs it’s prepared to make.
So why are these critical decisions so hard to understand, let alone discuss?
That’s the problem Polco’s Rethinking Budgeting tools are built to solve.
With interactive, visual, and story-driven tools like Budget Simulations, Taxpayer Receipts, Prioritize, and Housing Simulations, Polco is making budgeting more transparent, engaging, and effective—for everyone.
Let’s start with one of the most powerful tools in the Rethinking Budgeting suite: the Taxpayer Receipt.
This intuitive tool gives every resident a personalized breakdown of how their local taxes are being spent—down to the penny.
This kind of clarity builds trust. Instead of vague assumptions about “wasteful spending,” residents see the real costs of public services—and start asking more informed questions.
Polco’s Budget Simulation tool lets residents step into your shoes.
They get to explore the same financial constraints city leaders face: rising costs, limited revenue, competing priorities. In real time, they can:
Suddenly, it’s not just “why didn’t you fund X?” It’s “if we fund X, what do we cut—or how do we raise revenue?”
Residents walk away with a deeper understanding of the process—and empathy for the complexity of public finance.
Rethinking Budgeting isn’t just about understanding numbers—it’s about aligning budgeting with community priorities.
Tools like Prioritize allow residents to rank the programs or services that matter most to them—giving governments real-time insight into public values.
And with Meeting Mode, you can turn public workshops into live simulations, gathering feedback instantly during discussions.
This is engagement with purpose. You’re not just gathering opinions—you’re translating them into actionable, data-backed budget inputs.
When you combine budgeting simulations with clear storytelling—like Polco’s Content Posts or integration with Track dashboards—you create a full loop:
Fewer misunderstandings. More alignment. Stronger support.
The public doesn’t expect perfection—but they do expect honesty, inclusion, and clarity.
By showing your work and involving the community, Rethinking Budgeting tools help shift the conversation from frustration to collaboration.
And in a time of tight resources, political division, and high expectations, that shift is essential.
Gone are the days of backroom spreadsheets and top-down presentations.
Today, the best local governments are inviting residents in—not just to observe, but to understand and participate.
Polco’s Rethinking Budgeting tools make that possible. They turn budgeting from a black box into a shared process—one built on data, transparency, and trust.