Decatur’s New Budget Narrative

Decatur Metro | July 27, 2009

A new story in the Georgia Municipal Authority’s questionably titled “Breaking News” section details Decatur’s new “narrative” approach to the city budget. [h/t: InDecatur]

This year, instead of just dumping a bunch of numbers on a couple reams of paper, Decatur’s many departments went to the effort of creating a “narrative” version of the budget, which not only makes for easier reading but also helps give all those line items a bit more context.

Yet, even after creating this more reader-friendly budget, there were still reports of very low resident turnout at the June budget meetings.  And that can only mean one of two things.  One. Everyone is completely satisfied with and clear about the city’s 09-10 budget and goals.  Or Two. That even after this extra effort was taken, virtually no one (myself included) read the full document and then followed up at the meeting.

I’m going to assume the latter and take some emergency, redemptive steps to remedy this potential lapse in citizen responsibility.  Starting tomorrow, DM will feature daily posts that highlight one city department’s budget priorities for the upcoming year.

Sound boring?  Actually, it’s pretty interesting, if, like me,  you’re interested in the projects the city will spend money on in this coming fiscal year.  So stay tuned.

Decatur Metro: Having fun with the city budget since 2009.

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6 Responses to “Decatur’s New Budget Narrative”

  1. Manj says:
    July 27, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    Hey just wanted to say thanks for doing this. I think it’s important that more people are aware of what is being done with their tax dollars. I’ve also been unsuccessful to find an online version of the budget – I’ll admit I only started looking (half-#@3) after you made this post.

    Anyway, I appreciate your effort and I look forward to seeing your posts. Besides, the budget will get more view here on DM than it would on the City’s website. Keep up the great work.

  2. Peggy Merriss says:
    July 27, 2009 at 5:41 pm

    For those who are interested, here’s the link:

    http://www.decaturga.com/cgs_citysvcs_atr_budget.aspx#annual%20budgets

  3. sitting pugs says:
    July 28, 2009 at 1:05 am

    Throw in some beat-boxing and spoken word to get the crowds in?

  4. George says:
    July 28, 2009 at 10:32 am

    DM – I doubt I’ll read every section, but that being the case, I applaud your efforts.
    Don’t get all rosy-cheeked, but you & your blog are an asset to this community. Thanks.