Build a Budget Your Community Will Back
A small investment in credibility, confidence, and crowd wisdom.
As a resident, you would expect to have a say in what gets funded based on the needs and priorities of your community. However, the gap between what residents say they want and what governments actually fund is one of the most persistent challenges communities are facing today.
According to the 2025 Cobalt National Baseline Study, when community members were asked whether their local government was communicating effectively, the results showed an average score of 59.63 out of 100. This data suggests there is a significant opportunity for local governments to improve how they communicate with residents and ensure community members feel informed, engaged, and connected to the decisions being made in their communities, primarily which what they want funded.
There are several ways to close this gap and align your budgets more closely with the priorities and needs of the residents you serve:
Participatory Budgeting: This type of budgeting is a citizen engagement process that allows members of the community to decide how to allocate a portion of the public budget. Participatory budgeting allows the community to be a part of important funding decisions, which can improve the overall perception of local government. This is needed because, according to the Cobalt study, when community members were asked whether their local government was meeting the needs of the community, the results showed an average score of 67.27 out of 100.
One example is the Penny Poll, which allows community members to vote on how they would like community budgets to be spent by using actual pennies. Voters distribute their pennies among different categories to show how they would prioritize the use of available funds.
Community Discussions: Community discussions are a great way to invite residents to share their opinions and perspectives. They help residents feel heard while creating opportunities to build stronger relationships between community members and local government.
Resident Surveys: Surveys can help establish residents’ priorities using data that is measurable and actionable. They can be scientifically representative, providing an accurate measure of community priorities rather than reflecting the opinions of the most vocal or engaged minority. The results provide measurable insights into resident satisfaction, community needs, and support for future investments.
Americans in today’s world want a louder voice than ever. Implementing one, or all, of the ways mentioned above can help you close that gap and build a strong budget that is proudly backed by your residents.
References:
A small investment in credibility, confidence, and crowd wisdom.
As a resident, you would expect to have a say in what gets funded based on the needs and priorities of your community. However, the gap between what residents say they want and what governments actually fund is one of the most persistent challenges communities are facing today.
According to the 2025 Cobalt National Baseline Study, when community members were asked whether their local government was communicating effectively, the results showed an average score of 59.63 out of 100. This data suggests there is a significant opportunity for local governments to improve how they communicate with residents and ensure community members feel informed, engaged, and connected to the decisions being made in their communities, primarily which what they want funded.
There are several ways to close this gap and align your budgets more closely with the priorities and needs of the residents you serve:
Participatory Budgeting: This type of budgeting is a citizen engagement process that allows members of the community to decide how to allocate a portion of the public budget. Participatory budgeting allows the community to be a part of important funding decisions, which can improve the overall perception of local government. This is needed because, according to the Cobalt study, when community members were asked whether their local government was meeting the needs of the community, the results showed an average score of 67.27 out of 100.
One example is the Penny Poll, which allows community members to vote on how they would like community budgets to be spent by using actual pennies. Voters distribute their pennies among different categories to show how they would prioritize the use of available funds.
Community Discussions: Community discussions are a great way to invite residents to share their opinions and perspectives. They help residents feel heard while creating opportunities to build stronger relationships between community members and local government.
Resident Surveys: Surveys can help establish residents’ priorities using data that is measurable and actionable. They can be scientifically representative, providing an accurate measure of community priorities rather than reflecting the opinions of the most vocal or engaged minority. The results provide measurable insights into resident satisfaction, community needs, and support for future investments.
Americans in today’s world want a louder voice than ever. Implementing one, or all, of the ways mentioned above can help you close that gap and build a strong budget that is proudly backed by your residents.
References:
- Brennan Center for Justice. (2022, August 23). Making participatory budgeting work: Experiences on the front lines. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/making-participatory-budgeting-work-experiences-front-lines
- National League of Cities. (2024, September 30). How residents can help you make tough local government budget decisions. https://www.nlc.org/article/2024/09/30/how-residents-can-help-you-make-tough-local-government-budget-decisions
- National League of Cities. (n.d.). Cities 101—Budgets. https://www.nlc.org/resource/cities-101-budgets/
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (n.d.). Participatory budgeting. HUD Exchange. https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/participatory-budgeting/
- Cobalt Community Research. (n.d.). Cobalt Community Research. https://www.cobalt360.org/
For more information on how Cobalt can help you adapt and thrive in the changing demographic, economic and social environment, visit the Cobalt website or reach out to us by email. Let us know if you need anything at all for benchmarking or research data; we are here for you.
Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations measure, benchmark, and affordably engage communities through high-quality metrics, mobile geofencing data, surveys, and dynamic population segmentation. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help.
Cobalt Community Research is a national 501c3 nonprofit, non-partisan coalition that helps local governments, schools and membership organizations measure, benchmark, and affordably engage communities through high-quality metrics, mobile geofencing data, surveys, and dynamic population segmentation. Cobalt combines big data with local insights to help organizations thrive as changes emerge in the economic, demographic and social landscape. Explore how we can help.