Research we covered earlier this year points out that local governments in towns without newspapers often spend more freely; there are no reporters scrutinizing budgets. Many small towns in our region do not have newspapers, but they do have access to the Rural Organizing Project.
ROP is taking a short workshop on the road, "Democracy at Work in Rural Oregon: Demystifying Budgets for Local Changemakers." Attendees will emerge from the session with more knowledge of how to read budgets, ask questions about line items, and request changes. Emma Ronai-Durning visits to talk about some of the components of local budget scrutiny.