Bloomington, Indiana – Bloomington is embarking on a major shift in the way it plans and manages public funds, moving from Priorities-Based Budgeting (PBB) to Outcome-Based Budgeting (OBB) as it prepares for the 2027 budget. This transition comes as the city seeks to improve accountability, transparency, and efficiency in the face of new revenue limitations and growing expectations from residents, businesses, and the City Council.
Mayor Thompson’s administration first implemented Priorities-Based Budgeting in the 2026 budget cycle. PBB focused largely on defining the city’s values and priorities, but officials recognized that it fell short when it came to evaluating actual results. As the mayor’s office observed, prioritizing values without connecting them to measurable outcomes made it difficult to assess whether budget allocations were truly achieving the desired impact. This realization has prompted a strategic pivot to Outcome-Based Budgeting, which reframes the budget question from “what are our priorities?” to “how will we know if these priorities worked?”
At its core, OBB aligns resources with funding while emphasizing measurable outcomes. It builds upon the vision alignment of PBB but takes a step further by making performance assessment a central feature of the budgeting process. According to city planners, OBB is designed to reward innovation, measure performance, enhance transparency, create comprehensive budget documents, and allow for flexibility with long-term planning. By emphasizing results rather than intentions, OBB seeks to provide a clearer picture of how public funds are being used and the tangible benefits they produce for the community.
Other municipalities have successfully adopted OBB as a framework for smarter budgeting. Cities like Baltimore, MD and Winder, GA offer useful roadmaps, even though their populations and needs differ. The process typically begins with public engagement, inviting residents and stakeholders to articulate expectations and identify measurable priorities. Operational staff and finance teams are then involved to calculate fully burdened costs, including personnel and service expenses. Finally, municipal leadership reviews funding gaps and alternative revenue scenarios before approving the budget. Once approved, city departments are tasked with implementing programs and services aligned with the expected outcomes, along with standards to evaluate progress.
Implementation structures vary depending on a city’s size and capacity. Baltimore, with a population of 568,000, employs a mayoral leadership team alongside Results Teams made up of staff from city departments, budget and performance offices, and citizen representatives. These teams coordinate with city agencies to define outcomes, costs, and performance expectations. Winder, a smaller city of 21,000 residents, relies on a Chief Administrative Officer with assistance from ICMA consultants and local leadership. Despite differences in scale, both examples highlight the importance of flexible, transparent leadership and collaborative structures to successfully manage OBB.
While the approach promises greater accountability and clarity, it is not without challenges. OBB is highly time-consuming and labor-intensive, requiring in-depth understanding of programs, services, staffing, and funding streams. It demands strong collaboration across departments, finance teams, and leadership, which can be inconvenient but ultimately strengthens the budget process. Recognizing these demands, Bloomington’s City Council Fiscal Committee has already begun preliminary discussions about timelines, roles, and responsibilities to prepare for the ambitious 2027 budget. One key question will be how leadership responsibilities will be delegated and structured to implement OBB effectively.
Despite the complexity, city officials are optimistic about the transition. By emphasizing measurable results, fostering transparency, and encouraging innovation, Outcome-Based Budgeting represents a significant step forward for Bloomington. The city hopes that, with careful planning and collaboration, OBB will not only improve financial oversight but also enhance the delivery of public services, making government more responsive and accountable to the community it serves.
As Bloomington moves closer to the 2027 budget cycle, residents and stakeholders can expect a more strategic, transparent, and performance-driven budgeting process, one that prioritizes outcomes over intentions and fosters stronger connections between the city’s resources and the results they produce. The success of this transition will depend on leadership, planning, and the ability of city staff to adapt to a more rigorous, outcome-focused approach to managing public funds.
