PHOTO VIA CITY OF ORLANDO
The City of Orlando has just launched a game-themed video called FUNDLANDO, in an effort to walk residents through how the city plans to spend its nearly $1.9 billion budget, timed to the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.
The video, which premiered Thursday across the city’s digital channels, uses gameplay to illustrate the scale of Orlando’s 400-plus daily services for a population of more than 340,000 residents. Players pull a “Hurricane Hazard Card” to learn how emergency reserve funds work, allocate $493 million toward public safety, and watch 900 miles of streets get paved as the “game” progresses.
The city has faced mounting budget pressure heading into this fiscal year. Orlando Shine reported in July that the city could lose $75 million to $85 million in property tax revenue over two years if a statewide homestead exemption amendment passes in November, prompting a hiring freeze and a new stabilization fund even as the proposed FY2027 budget held the millage rate steady at nearly $1.9 billion.
City officials describe FUNDLANDO as part of a broader push for transparency around how tax dollars are allocated, inviting local media to feature the approach as a civic education tool.
Some people didn’t like it.
