Tailored Community Engagement: How Frederick County, MD Increased Their Reach

Local governments across the United States are currently grappling with significant budget uncertainties. From fluctuating tax revenues to rising operational costs and the sunsetting of federal pandemic aid, fiscal challenges are forcing difficult decisions about public services and investments. 

In this climate, the ability to effectively engage with communities—especially those potentially impacted by changes—is not just good practice, but an absolute necessity for transparent, equitable, and sustainable governance. 

Frederick County, Maryland, a diverse and geographically expansive county of over 270,000 residents, offers a timely case study in how tailored community engagement, leveraging technology, can bridge gaps and inform critical budgetary choices.

The Citizen Engagement Challenge

The Imperative of Inclusive Engagement Amidst Fiscal Constraints

Frederick County, like many jurisdictions, faces the complex task of serving a diverse population, with over 20% of residents speaking a language other than English. This demographic reality, coupled with a largely rural geographic spread, presents unique challenges for fostering meaningful community connections.

In an era of budget tightening, ensuring every voice is heard becomes even more critical, as resource allocation decisions have amplified consequences.

To achieve broad, representative engagement on their budget and fiscal priorities, the county turned to PublicInput. Using technology, they implemented a mixed-mode surveying approach to achieve representative engagement and ensure every resident had an opportunity to be heard. Given the county is home to many non-English speakers, the county prioritized language accessibility across every engagement channel (online, in-person, email, and phone).

Achieving Representative Engagement on Budget Decision-making

Frederick County’s partnership with PublicInput demonstrates how technology can facilitate broad and equitable engagement, even when resources are constrained. Rather than viewing robust engagement as an expensive add-on, the county leveraged it as a core strategy to inform critical financial decisions. 

Ongoing Spanish Speaking Community Surveys:

 Understanding the needs of diverse populations is vital for targeted, efficient spending. Frederick County utilized PublicInput to conduct ongoing surveys with its Spanish-speaking residents. This proactive outreach gathered insights into awareness of county programs and services, as well as barriers to access. Such data is invaluable for ensuring that budget allocations for public services truly reach and benefit all segments of the community, avoiding wasted resources on ineffective outreach or misaligned programs. The resulting data helps prioritize programs that genuinely address community needs, a key consideration when every dollar counts.  

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Frederick County Spanish Speaking Participant Map by Zip Code

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Frederick County Meetings Home Dashboard

Language Access for Public Meetings

In a fiscally uncertain environment, clear communication about budget proposals is paramount. Frederick County addressed this by offering public meeting translation and interpretation in over 100 languages, powered by PublicInput’s automated multilingual translation features.

As former County Executive Jan Gardner stated in 2022, “We are stronger when everyone has a voice in how our county operates.”

This commitment to inclusivity ensures that all residents, regardless of language, can understand and contribute to discussions about vital budget decisions, fostering broader buy-in and reducing potential misunderstandings that can lead to costly rework or public opposition. Live multilingual captioning and automated transcripts further enhance accessibility and transparency.

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Frederick County council meeting with closed captioning

Automated PublicInput meeting transcripts helped staff capture meeting minutes for every public meeting with an option to translate and share in over 100 languages.

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Admin view of the automated public meeting transcripts

Informing Strategic Investments: Learning from ARPA Planning:

The experience with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding provides a clear precedent. County staff effectively used the PublicInput platform to facilitate community discussions, identifying top priority areas for investing these significant federal funds.

This collaborative approach ensured that one-time funds were allocated in ways that best addressed community needs and aligned with public priorities, maximizing the impact of these crucial, albeit temporary, resources. This model is directly applicable to ongoing general fund budget discussions, allowing communities to shape spending priorities.

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Real time PublicInput dynamic report highlight engagement data

Gathering Feedback on Budget Priorities

Under newly elected County Executive Jessica Fitzwater, who prioritizes inclusion, sustainability, and accountability, Frederick County deeply engaged residents in establishing priorities for a “livable and vibrant community.”

This process included planning workgroups and prioritization surveys across seven key areas, from economic development to government innovation. This level of granular input allows the county to align its strategic financial planning with resident expectations, ensuring that budget allocations support the community’s vision. PublicInput’s reporting and segmentation tools were crucial for drilling down into comment themes and summarizing feedback effectively.
 

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PublicInput reporting and segmentation tools drill down into comment themes and summarize feedback.

Public Input on Annual Budget Priorities

Critically, Frederick County directly involved residents in the annual budget prioritization and planning process. By creating the “Frederick County Budgeting home,” a micro-site on the PublicInput platform, residents could learn about the budgeting process and provide feedback on specific topics at their convenience via a mixed-mode approach (online, email, phone, in-person).

This approach was complemented by public hearings and town hall meetings for those preferring in-person engagement. This comprehensive strategy ensures that budget decisions are not made in a vacuum, but are informed by direct community input, leading to more resilient and publicly supported financial plans. Automated comment tagging and word clouds facilitated rapid analysis of resident feedback, allowing staff to quickly identify key themes and priorities, crucial for timely budget adjustments.

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PublicInput comment tagging word cloud automatically codes narrative comments into themes.

The Outcome: Resident buy-in on critical decisions

By leveraging the PublicInput platform, Frederick County achieved a mixed-mode approach to community engagement that directly addressed the specific needs and preferences of its diverse residents. This approach has yielded tangible benefits, particularly relevant in the current fiscal climate:

• • • Enhanced Accessibility: Offering translatable closed captioning during live public meetings and increasing outreach within the Spanish-speaking community ensures more voices are heard, leading to more representative budget decisions.
    • Defensible, Data-Driven Prioritization: The ability to collaborate with the community to set county-wide priorities and gather high-quality input via a mixed-mode approach allows for confident recommendations on investments, backed by documented public input. This reduces the risk of allocating scarce resources to misaligned priorities.
    • Informed Budget Planning: Actively informing and engaging the community with the annual budget planning process fosters greater understanding and support for difficult fiscal choices, minimizing public backlash and fostering constructive dialogue.
    • Efficient Monitoring and Reporting: A centralized platform for monitoring and reporting on engagement streamlines staff efforts, making the process more efficient and cost-effective, a critical consideration when budgets are tight.

In an era of pronounced budget uncertainty, Frederick County’s experience underscores that robust, tailored community engagement is not a luxury, but a strategic imperative. It empowers local governments to make difficult but necessary financial decisions with greater transparency and public support, ultimately fostering stronger, more resilient communities.