Frequently asked questions.

Local Government Accountability (LGAI) is an independent research organization that conducts forensic analysis of local government finances. We assimilate and examine massive volumes of public records — budgets, financial reports, minutes, contracts, and filings — and publish the same source documents so citizens can verify our findings themselves and understand how their tax dollars are being managed.

No. LGAI approaches every investigation open-minded: no predetermined target, no party affiliation, and no assumption about who is responsible for anything. We apply the same forensic method to every jurisdiction regardless of which party or officials currently hold office. Neutrality is our starting posture. Once the public record is examined, we report what it shows.

When the public record reveals abnormal spending growth, rising debt, or other material issues, the officials whose votes, signatures, or administrative decisions produced those outcomes are, by definition, the incumbents who held office during the period under review. Examining the existing record therefore focuses on incumbents as a structural consequence of the work, not as a selective or partisan choice. We create public awareness of what the record shows so citizens can make their own informed decisions. We are not a Super PAC and we do not tell citizens how to vote.

As a 501(c)(4) we expressly reserve the right — strictly on the fiscal record and in our sole discretion — to communicate with candidates and campaigns, to endorse candidates, to state clearer positions, or to take any further lawful action when the facts warrant. We accept no funding from candidates, political parties, or government. Our only client is the citizen.

Yes. We communicate with candidates, campaigns, officials, and citizens as needed in the course of research, verification, and public education. Communication is a normal and lawful part of gathering and clarifying the public record. We maintain full editorial independence and accept no funding from any candidate or campaign.

Projects are typically initiated by citizen requests or concerns about local spending, debt, or governance. We prioritize based on the strength of the public record and potential impact for residents.

We keep individual identities in the background because our credibility comes from the rigor of our research and the transparency of our methodology — not from personalities. Our team includes professionals with experience in finance, law, data analysis, and public policy who share a commitment to fiscal responsibility.

We take extensive public records (often hundreds of pages) and distill them into clear, verifiable findings with direct links to the original source documents (meeting minutes, budgets, audits, etc.). Our goal is to make important information accessible to everyday citizens.

No. We are researchers and analysts. We produce factual, sourced research — not news articles. Our work is built on primary public records and a published methodology that any reader can review and verify.

LGAI is funded by private contributions from individuals and foundations that support independent government-accountability research. We do not accept funding from candidates, political parties, government contracts, or advertisers. As a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, our donors are confidential and are not subject to public disclosure, and contributions are not tax-deductible.

To support our work, visit Donate.

Publication timing and any pre-publication communication are at LGAI’s sole discretion. LGAI does not commit to notifying any individual or entity before publication, or to any specific correction process or timeline.

Our controlling policy is set out in our Editorial Standards.

LGAI seeks to source every factual claim to a primary public document. Our methodology is published in the Seven-Pillar Audit Framework, and our editorial standards describe how investigations are reviewed before publication.

If we identify a material error, it is logged publicly on our Corrections Log. And because we publish the same primary source documents our findings rely on, you can pull the same records and verify our work yourself.

Local Government Accountability is organized as a Wyoming 501(c)(4) social-welfare organization. This status allows us to engage in unlimited issue advocacy and educational work and to engage in secondary political activity (including communication with candidates and potential endorsements) so long as social-welfare activity remains our primary purpose. We are not bound by the contribution limits or coordination rules that apply to Super PACs. We operate under the full protection of the First Amendment.

Past statements on our website or in publications are descriptive of our approach at the time they were written; they are not permanent self-imposed legal restrictions. We retain the right to update our practices, language, and positions at any time consistent with applicable law.

We work from primary public records and strive for material accuracy. Public records at this scale are voluminous, inconsistent, and occasionally wrong at the source. Good-faith interpretive differences can arise when complex financial data are analyzed. We reserve the right to interpret the data according to our professional judgment and methodology. We welcome independent verification and alternative interpretations. When we become aware of a material factual error we correct it and log the correction publicly on our Corrections Log at localgovtinstitute.org/corrections. We do not commit, and have never committed, material misrepresentation or fraud.

LGAI is funded by private contributions from individuals and foundations that support independent accountability research. We do not accept funding from government entities, political parties, candidate committees, or political action committees.

As a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, donor identities are confidential and are not subject to public disclosure. LGAI does not disclose its donors and is not required to; confidentiality protects supporters of independent oversight work. Editorial decisions are structurally independent: donors have no advance knowledge of investigations, no role in selecting subjects, and no editorial control.

Our conflict-of-interest and editorial independence policy is published at Editorial Standards.

After we publish findings we create public awareness so citizens can see the record. Awareness may occur through our own channels, through organic sharing by private citizens, through paid social-media distribution, or through republication by third parties. We do not always control, and often cannot determine after the fact, the exact path any particular piece of content takes once it is public. All original research and findings remain those of Local Government Accountability and are governed by the standards published on this site.

LGAI publishes factual research based on primary public records. As a 501(c)(4), LGAI reserves the right, strictly on the fiscal record and in its sole discretion, to communicate with candidates and campaigns or to endorse candidates when the facts warrant. LGAI does not direct how third parties use our findings.

Once published, our work becomes part of the public record. Candidates, journalists, and citizens may cite or reference our publications under standard principles of fair use and public-records reporting.

How a third party frames or amplifies our work beyond what we have published is that party’s responsibility. Our full policy on third-party use is in Editorial Standards.