Three ways Austin & Philadelphia are Integrating Equity into the Budget Process
Source: What Works Cities Published: January 28th, 2021
Cities are facing extreme fiscal challenges, from increased costs associated with pandemic response and civil unrest to an economic recession that has caused severe losses in revenue. COVID-19 has revealed underlying racial disparities in access to healthcare and economic opportunity, making more salient the need to integrate equity as a core principle in the municipal budgeting process.
Given this context, the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities initiative launched the City Budgeting for Equity and Recovery program in October 2020. The program is helping 29 U.S. cities develop plans to drive financial recovery while strengthening their commitment to equity and provides a unique opportunity for cities to share lessons and problem solve with peers.
We spoke with two leading City Budgeting for Equity and Recovery program participants, Marisa Waxman, Budget Director for the City of Philadelphia, and Ed Van Eenoo, Chief Financial Officer from the City of Austin, who shared their experiences building equity into budget and finance processes. Here are three lessons from Philadelphia and Austin who are innovating to make budget decisions more equitable.
1: Pursue Formal Structural Changes to Advance Equity
Both Austin and Philadelphia have committed to advance equity in all aspects of city operations by formally establishing Equity Offices.
In 2015, Austin’s newly elected City Council directed the City Manager to evaluate the impact of city policies and practices on racial equity. Austin officials developed an Equity Assessment Tool in partnership with the community to establish a baseline for the city’s impact on equity.
In 2016, the city’s first Equity Office was established to lead and guide the equity initiatives. Van Eenoo highlights that “the Equity Office and our Council Members in Austin are the major allies and leaders in advancing equity in budgeting.”
In Philadelphia, Mayor James F. Kenney exercised his authority to make equity a top priority. In 2016, the Mayor established the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and in 2020 expanded it to be the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with the authority to execute a citywide Racial Equity mandate.
In light of the fiscal challenges this year, Waxman explains that a new “Budget Equity Committee was established to dramatically revise our budget proposal and held focus groups with community leaders to provide input into what to preserve and what we could cut to get the budget in balance with an emphasis on racial equity.”
2: Be Deliberate in Finding Opportunities to Prioritize Equity
Austin and Philadelphia are being deliberate in formalizing the incorporation of equity principles in budget processes and decisions.
In Philadelphia, the official budget forms require each city department to reflect on how their departmental budget impacts racial equity. There are racial equity questions in the forms for existing budgets, new spending, and budget cuts, in part to help departments identify and understand any disproportionate disadvantages that certain decisions might confer on various communities. Moreover, in their annual budget meetings with departments, the Budget Office prioritizes having departments reflect on their procurement goals for contracting with minority- and women-owned businesses.
Making adjustments to the tool has made it possible to operationalize conversations about racial equity in the budget process. Waxman highlights that departments are at different stages of the equity journey, and the goal shouldn’t be solely about metrics but to “just get started” in normalizing conversations about racial equity as a budgetary priority.
Meanwhile, Austin’s Equity Assessment Tool takes departments through a critical examination of their policies, procedures, planning, programs, personnel, and budgeting which has contributed to normalizing equity conversations with departments. “Previously, City departments and staff made annual budget requests based solely on operational needs. Now, advancing equity is used as a baseline before any new program or initiative is added to the budget,” Van Eenoo explains.
Click here to read more
Photo by Jeremy Banks on Unsplash