Facing budgetary constraints, the City of Walnut Creek recognized that traditional budget documents did not tell the story in a way that the public could easily understand. Therefore, the city decided to do something dramatically different to catch the community’s attention, which included the City Council's decision to forgo the traditional 3-inch budget binder loaded with numbers and charts in favor of creating a budget communication piece that was compelling and accessible. Their approach included creating user-friendly budget publications and distributing them in a variety ways that included newsletters, internet documents, and smartphone applications.