PW County now offers an app so taxpayers can peruse the budget proposal online and ask questions

Taxpayers with questions about Prince William County’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Budget can visit the Office of Management and Budget online at http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/budget/pages/default.aspx and “get answers from the experts through an easy-to-use, interactive Budget Q&A app,” according to a news release from county government.

There’s also an app at the website where people can see the proposed budget in its entirety; an app where people can study the William County Capital Improvement Program known as the CIP; and a Budget Information app.

Dave Sinclair, Management and Budget Director for the county, assures taxpayers that finding answers in the Budget Q&A app is as easy as clicking the icon and leaving a query. He was quoted in the county’s news release as saying, “They can click on our question and answer database. The question comes directly to us in the Office of Management and Budget, and we do our very best to answer those questions. It helps us greatly if you can provide us with either page number or context for that question, so that our analysts … can answer in a timely fashion.”

The application also has an FAQ section where residents might find the answers for many of their questions, Sinclair said. Residents can also use the application to plug in a tax rate, or add or remove programs and services, to see what effect such changes would have on the budget.

The CIP includes community development projects, general government projects, public safety projects and transportation projects, Sinclair said. There is an interactive CIP map where a taxpayer can find his or her location on the map. Then, by using icons, the user can see what’s going on around where he or she lives or anywhere in the county. A taxpayer can click on the links for updated information on project costs, project timelines and important information such as that, according to Sinclair.

The Budget Information icon will let users find the budget calendar that includes times and dates for a community budget meeting, a planning commission work session, public hearings, as school board presentation, budget recap and budget markup along with other meetings pertaining to the budget. All of the meetings will be held in the board chambers at the McCoart Government Center at 1 county Complex Court. The app also allows taxpayers to see all of the budget presentations that are made to the board.

Go to http://www.pwcgov.org/budget to see all items related to the development of the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget.