Engage Miami urges committee to adopt a digital interactive budget tool

Amy Morales, policy director at Engage Miami, urged the committee during public comment on May 15 to support adoption of a digital, interactive budget tool that would centralize and visualize county budget information in multiple languages.

“My name is Amy Morales … I’m the policy director at Engage Miami, and we’re here today on behalf of 12 partner orgs, to express strong support for the adoption of a digital interactive budget tool,” Morales said. She told commissioners the tool would visualize how the county allocates funds across departmental areas, reduce duplicative printed materials and provide real-time budget adjustments to lessen repeated communication costs during the fiscal year.

Morales cited other Florida local governments — Pinellas and Flagler counties and the city of North Miami — as examples that have implemented similar tools despite smaller budgets, saying the format supports participatory budgeting by making detailed budget information more accessible to residents. She urged the committee to support development of the tool and offered Engage Miami’s assistance in further conversations with commissioners.

Ending: Commissioners did not take immediate committee action on the public comment; the proposal was presented to the committee as part of public input and may factor into future transparency initiatives or budget-tool procurement discussions.