Budget Process Optimized for Flexibility and Priorities
Organization Profile
- Industry: Municipal
- Location: Liberty Lake, Washington
- Number of Employees: 30
- Population: 14,000
- Tyler Client Since: 2024
- Tyler Products/Solutions: Priority Based Budgeting
Preparing for Future Challenges
Liberty Lake, Washington, has undergone remarkable growth since its incorporation in 2001, with a population topping 14,000 and a thriving commercial sector emerging as a powerhouse along the corridor anchored by Spokane, Washington, on one side and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on the other.
The city’s budget process was built upon line-item reviews, complex council scrutiny, and thick binders of financial data.
But as the city entered a period of sustained expansion, local leaders realized their legacy budgeting system was not built to withstand future infrastructure demands or financial pressures.
Recognizing the need for proactive planning and strategic alignment, Liberty Lake’s leadership set out to modernize their budgeting approach and ensure it could remain agile even if financial priorities shifted. The city found a solution in Tyler’s Priority Based Budgeting.
Priority Based Budgeting Transforms Process
Liberty Lake’s traditional municipal budgeting environment was marked by complexity and rigidity. Department heads supplied printed versions of annual budgets to the finance director just before the City Council’s budget review, and council members conducted exhaustive, item-by-item reviews of a 200-page binder.
“It was very fixed, very antiquated, and not very strategic,” says Mark McAvoy, city administrator.
Economic conditions remained positive, but as McAvoy cautioned, “We’re a young city, so we haven’t gone through that first round of infrastructure rebuild or replacement. When that time comes, we might not be able to budget from a surplus position.”
Liberty Lake’s leadership wanted to establish principles and systems in times of prosperity so that when financial headwinds arrive, the city would not be left scrambling under pressure to adapt outdated processes.
Modernizing the city’s strategic plan and tying the budget process to that plan became a high priority for elected officials. Transforming budget review from a general ledger to a prioritybased approach was necessary for the city’s continued success.
Flexibility and Priority Alignment
After implementing Tyler’s Priority Based Budgeting solution, Liberty Lake maintains financial flexibility, transparency, and alignment with community priorities, even as it navigates multiple budget cycles. As an AI-enabled platform, Priority Based Budgeting transforms data into operational line items to to create an inventory of programs. The system’s AI‑enabled analysis revealed program costs and scored programs, enabling rapid implementation.
Priority Based Budgeting’s ROI reports and quadrant tools are used routinely in meetings to adjust definitions, score programs, and realign efforts with strategic plans. The quadrant report, which captures relative impact and cost of programs, has enabled the city to document and demonstrate that the community’s resources are invested in high-priority programs.
Implementing Priority Based Budgeting allows an organization to focus on investment and return on investment.
Mark McAvoy
City Administrator
Liberty Lake, Washington
Priority Based Budgeting’s framework has helped the city:
- Prepare the city council for detailed budget workshops
- Reinforce how budget requests should be understood in program-alignment context, not just dollars and line items
During the recent budget process, the city was able to tie 71% of all requests for new funding to Priority Based Budgetingscored programs rated most or more aligned with priorities. This enabled the city to show how a large majority of new funding is explicitly tied to top priorities.
“We wanted to convert to a process and a system that we knew was flexible enough and agile enough to allow us to adjust when times weren’t as great as they are now,” says McAvoy. “Implementing Priority Based Budgeting allows an organization to focus on investment and return on investment.
“Our experience working with Tyler has been positive. All the support, responsiveness, and great customer service we received, from initial implementation to ongoing service, have set a very high standard for our city leadership.”