How would you balance the county budget?

With budget time approaching, Milwaukee County officials want to know how residents would balance the 2020 budget — and make up for an estimated $28 million gap.

To gauge residents’ priorities and help the public understand the decisions facing elected officials, the county on Tuesday launched an interactive online tool that simulates the budget process. The county has a $1.2 billion operating budget.

It requires users to raise revenue or reduce the county’s programs and services.

This is the third year of the simulation, but this time it comes with new revenue options. Those options are part of county leaders’ “Fair Deal for Milwaukee,” their effort to avert a fiscal crisis and change how state tax revenue is handled.

County leaders point to an imbalance between the growing amount of tax revenue sent to the state by Milwaukee County residents and businesses each year and the stagnant share of that money that is returned.

The tool includes new revenueraising measures that would require changes in state law, including increasing the sales tax collected by the county and increasing the county property tax levy. It also includes an option to increase state aid to the county, which would require a change in the state budget formula.

The county currently has the power to raise vehicle registration fees and borrow from its reserves.

The simulation will be open until mid-August. It is expected to take less than 30 minutes to finish and can be accessed at https://county.milwaukee .gov/balancing-act. Users will also be asked for feedback on how to address the constraints facing the county.

Last year, more than 650 county residents submitted balanced budgets using the tool.