Pricing Policing in Your City FAQ

Where does this data come from?

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy publishes an annual database that “makes it possible to compare local government finances for 150 of the largest U.S. cities across more than 120 categories of revenue, expenditures, debt, and assets.” This application uses the most recent data, from 2023, which was published in 2026.

What is a fiscally standardized city?

From the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy FiSC explainer:

“The FiSC estimates are critical for making meaningful fiscal comparisons at the city level, because the delivery of public services is organized in very different ways in different cities. While some city governments provide a full array of public services for their residents and businesses, others share the responsibility with a variety of overlying independent governments. Fiscal comparisons across central city municipal governments alone can thus be highly misleading.”

Comparisons of city budgets alone would lead us to misunderstand the total investment and scale of services and investment in those services in cities.

Where can I learn more about the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy?

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is an operating foundation that focuses on research and analysis to support six goals: low-carbon, climate resilient communities and regions, efficient and equitable tax systems, reduced poverty and spatial inequality, fiscally healthy communities and regions, sustainably managed land and water resources, and functional land markets and reduced informality. You can find out more on their homepage.

Is my city in the data?

The FiSC database includes data on 150 of the largest U.S. cities. The largest city in every state is included as well as most of the largest cities in the U.S. by population. If you live in the largest city in your state or your city has more than a couple of hundred thousand residents, it is likely your data is here.

Why does the data stop at 2023?

The FiSC database uses data from the US Census of Governments. The collection and publication of that data is dependent on audited fiscal data from local and state governments, which are often two to three years behind the current year. In addition, it then takes time for that data to be collected, verified, and prepared for publication. Only then can the good folks at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy do their analysis to standardize the cities.

Who is this tool for?

This tool is for anyone who wants to understand the services their city and community prioritizes spending public dollars on. Use this tool to learn about how much your city spends now, and has spent historically, on public services.

What should I ask using this tool?

This tool presents five different looks at spending on public services.

Who made this tool?

This tool was created by Civilytics Consulting. Civilytics is an independent data science firm with a mission of building inclusive public analytics for government accountability. Civilytics is building the tools communities need to understand, deliberate about, and change the performance of their local governments.

The primary author was Jared Knowles. He has helped dozens of grassroots organizations across the country read, understand, and advocate for changes in their city and police budgets. He worked for the Wisconsin state government before founding his own business. Jared holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The creation of this tool was made possible by the support of the Community Resource Hub for Safety and Accountability. Please visit and support the CRH to learn more about how to get involved in your community.

Where can I learn more about your work?

Hey, glad you asked!

You can get more resources to help in advocating for systems change and accountability in law enforcement at the Community Resource Hub and on the Civilytics homepage.

Technical stuff!

The FiSC tool works best in landscape mode on a mobile device or on a desktop browser. It is built using the Shiny web application framework for the open source statistical computing language R. The application is deployed and hosted on ShinyApps.io - a web application hosting service provided by RStudio, with the hosting fees paid by Civilytics.

The tool should be compatible with all major browsers.

Contact

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the application, please contact the author, Jared Knowles.