What should a budget explain to residents?

A budget proposes how public money will be used. Residents should be able to connect an amount to the service it purchases, the obligations it creates and the results expected. That is the purpose of the three stories in this guide.

An increase needs an explanation, but so does a repeated amount. Support for another organization needs a description of the work purchased. Reimbursed spending needs both the expense and the money coming back. These are different questions, and each calls for different records.

The hearing gives residents a place to raise those questions before the scheduled adoption decision. A useful question names the amount, explains what is unclear and asks for the record that would resolve it.