Priority based budgeting

Priority Based Budgeting (PBB) helps Strathcona County to better understand the services it provides citizens and businesses; how much they cost, and how they reflect and address strategic goals and priorities.  

PBB uses Council’s strategic plan to assess the alignment of what we do (our services) to what we are trying to achieve (our goals). 

A priority approach ensures our resources are directed at the right things – at the right service levels. PBB helps to identify “what can we do differently” to allocate resources in the best way. 

It also identifies additional characteristics of services such as:  

• Is the County mandated to provide the service? 
• What is the community’s reliance on the County to provide the service? 
• What is the cost recovery of the service? 
• What portion of the community or organization is served by the service? 
• What is the demand for the service?  

PBB is only one of the tools that helps the County plan, deliver and review services. Looking at prior spending patterns, efficiency opportunities, capacity, performance measures, customer feedback and external factors are also considered. 

PBB is about focusing our resources and attention on the programs and services that matter most to our residents.