A Texas city cinematically stepped up the typically boring budget presentation game last month with a stop-motion Lego video that has since gone viral across the country for its creativity.
Officials in Arlington, Texas, determined earlier this year that the budget presentation should be interesting and engaging, as it ultimately has real impacts on city residents.
That’s when Director of Communications and Legislative Affairs Jay Warren thought of the unique idea of having a Lego-sized city filmed inside the house to ring the budget bells and whistles, NBC5 reported .
The four-and-a-half-minute video shows Lego citizens working and participating in the operation of the city, as it explains where all the funds from the city’s $ 552 million budget, such as schools, county taxes and far more. Sunday had been seen just under 700,000 times.
“As we show them how to spend their money in an understandable and engaging way,” he told NBC the municipal office was asked. “We looked at it and thought: what does the budget really do? We build a budget every year. We are looking at the key priorities that the council has and what they want to build for this year. “
He said the project came from a children’s hobby and a Lego city he has built for years and years.
“It’s a hobby, it’s true it’s a nerdy hobby, but it’s something I’ve had since I was a kid,” Warren told the dam.
Warren said getting more interest and education in the city budget and where its taxes are going is an important goal.
“We need this feedback. We need that input to make the right decisions for Arlington residents, ”he said.