Each student will analyze the budget and budgetary trends for a local government (city or county government). The paper will be formatted as follows:

-Overview and budget process and format
-Expenditure and revenue trends
-Conclusion and Recommendation

The primary source of data will be the budget of the government that you are analyzing. You may be able to get copies of these from the government. Many governments now also have budget documents posted on their Web site. You may also want to review Census data for socio-demographic information about the area. Finally, you might search newspaper indexes to find information on major recent budget issues.