Local government finance and budgeting 101: encouraging meaningful citizen participation through education.

Most citizens have little knowledge about local government budgeting and its impact on their communities. This may be driven by the fact that over the last few decades, the American public has grown increasingly apathetic to political affairs and civic involvement. A recent Gallup poll showed that public trust in state and local government has declined in the last five years, due largely to the slow economy and its negative effect on budgets. (1) To counter these trends, many local governments are strategically engaging the public in local affairs through citizen education. Governments of all types and sizes are now using a variety of strategies--including newsletters, ...