The classics: Traditional modes of information sharing

  Consider these tactics and efforts the Moby Dick, Wuthering Heights, and Alice in Wonderland of sharing budget information.  Except no one makes you read (or watch) these in high school. Earlier this week I covered an overview of the first phase of citizen engagement.  For my examples of information sharing I tried to highlight some ways that local governments are doing this that you may not have seen before.  However, I wanted to make sure to also cover the classics, for those who are interested.  Consider this a bonus post! There are three common methods of information sharing employed by many local governments.  The first is simply making budget information available online, at your government offices, or at places like local public libraries.  This is a basic and, in North Carolina, a mandated way to share information and ensure basic transparency.  It also requires a commitment of very limited time and resources, which makes it attractive to many local governments.  The main shortcoming of this method is that the information will likely be too complicated and overwhelming for your average citizen to gain a great deal from it.  For example, citizens may not understand their local government’s revenue streams,