Every city has limits, even in the big state of Montana. And just as roads have their cutoff points, city budgets only stretch so far, too.

Mayor Tom Hanel of Billings, Montana, knows this well. As a long-time city employee, Hanel has plenty of experience crunching the numbers behind the scenes. Hanel realized that if Billings was to keep its books in order, the city would needs to make well-planned and well-informed decisions about development.