CINCINNATI – The City of Cincinnati is proud to announce it won a 2017 Blue Chip Community Media Award for its "Your City Budget Basics" budget engagement video.

• WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW

Awards were handed out April 26 during a ceremony at the Redmoor Theater in Mount Lookout. Several members of the City’s Office of Budget and Finance were on-hand to accept the award in the "Instructional/Educational" category.

The Cincinnati Recreation Commission took home two awards as well.

"This was a cross-department effort to expand and improve budget engagement for our city and the video is a critical piece to expand the educational part of the process," said Christopher Bigham, Budget Director. "We really appreciate the recognition and will continue to enhance and expand budget engagement."

Bigham and his staff worked alongside the Department of City Planning, the Office of Communications, and CitiCable to come up with the "Your City Budget Basics," which serves as an engagement tool to inform residents about the City of Cincinnati’s budget. Beginning with an introduction from City Manager Harry Black, the video highlights several key elements of the City’s budget process including important budget terminology, what’s included in the budget, where funds in the budget come from, how decision-makers decide what to fund through the budget, and how residents can get involved.

Engagement is a key component of this video as well as the City’s overall revamped budget strategy.

Every year, the City of Cincinnati asks for your feedback on the proposed budget. As part of that process the City looks for ways to better engage with the community and broaden outreach.

The City looked to further enhance those efforts leading into the fiscal years 2018-19 biennial budget process by ramping up communication and engagement strategies. This includes enhanced survey tools, educational opportunities and a variety of public meetings. A key facet will be public input.

The main goal of this budget engagement campaign is to keep residents informed and engaged throughout the entire process. There are multiple opportunities to participate, including online and in person at public forums, so get involved.

You can learn more about the City’s Budget Engagement process on the Budget website.

Your City Budget Basics from CitiCable on Vimeo.