To help taxpayers access the annual city budget, I've visualized it the 2019/20 proposed budget in Tableau, a data visualization software. Tableau puts the power of analysis in the user's hands; my hope is that YOU will dig into this budget data and feel empowered to engage, or perhaps more fully engage, the annual budgeting process.  I've provided some initial views that include search terms, filterable check box filters, and the picture-based budget visuals that result, along with sum-totals.  If you think of new ways to visualize or cut/slice into this data, I'm open to suggestions and idea.

A few notes about these initial views:

1. I have broken Revenues and Appropriations into their own separate visualization.
2. Revenues are how the city wants to fund itself. Some examples include: taxes, abatement "PILOT" fees, state aid, and local fees like marriage licenses.
3. Expense is what the city wants to spend its money on. Some examples include our police force, fire department, public works trucks and employees, and administration employees who work in City Hall.

Insights & analysis to follow on CivicParent, but for now wanted to share the data.

Finally, a note on timing and process:

1. The mayor proposes the budget.
2. The City Council introduces the budget into the public record (that happened on March 29th...the proposed budget is available online here). This is the budget that I've visualized on this page and in the links included on this page.
3. The City Council must then hold public hearings on the budget. During this time, anyone can ask questions, raise concerns, and so on. This is an excellent time to share concerns with both the Council *and* the wider community.
4. The City Council has the right to amend the mayor's proposed budget. The City Clerk can answer questions about this process. You can also ask about that process during the public meetings and also read about a bit about the process here.

Once available, I will post the dates/times that the city is expected to host budget hearings.