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Budgets in plain words: United States.
A take-home sheet for people at the session. Other countries: United Kingdom · Canada · Australia.
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Budgets in plain words: United States
Handout · moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/budgets-in-plain-words
A local budget shows what your local government plans to spend, and where the money comes from. It is public, and residents can usually comment before it is adopted.
Find it
- Look on your local government’s website, under finance, budget or meetings.
- Ask at a library or public office for a printed copy.
- Staff can usually tell you where to find a line you are looking for.
Read it
- Start with the summary: money in, money out.
- Compare this year with last year. What grew, shrank or is new?
- Look up only the services you care about in the detail pages.
Have a say
- Find the budget calendar: proposal, hearings or consultation, vote.
- Comment early, while the proposal can still change.
- Name the line, say how it affects you, and say what you would like to happen.
Stay with official sources
- Use the published budget and meeting papers, not summaries shared online.
- Ask staff if a line is unclear; that is part of their job.
In the United States
- Find your local government. USAGov has a directory where you choose your state to find contact information for local governments. Your city or county website is where local budgets are usually posted.
- Official local websites. The .gov web address is for governments in the U.S., and governments at all levels, including cities and counties, are eligible for one, free. A .gov address is one way to tell you are on an official site.
- The federal budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. The president sends a budget proposal to Congress, subcommittees hold hearings on proposed funding, and Congress sends funding bills to the president to sign or veto.
- Tracking federal spending. USAGov points to USAspending.gov to track how federal agencies and programs use the money in the budget.
Official places to check:
- USAGov: www.usa.gov/local-governments
- USAGov: www.usa.gov/federal-budget-process
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (get.gov): get.gov
General information, not advice about your own situation. Checked 19 October 2026. If an official source says something different, it is right. Free to copy and adapt. moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/budgets-in-plain-words