Methodology and Information

Finding and Validating the Data:

We use Claude AI to find the information within each of the documents. This information is then entered into a spreadsheet, where every value and page number is verified by a person.

Values marked as N/A do not exist and are not expected to exist. Values marked as TBD are ones that we are waiting for, usually because the organization has not yet published their ACFR.

Accounting for Inflation:

All real-dollar figures are adjusted for inflation using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), West Region series (CUUR0400SA0) June values, not seasonally adjusted. June 30 marks the end of most jurisdictions' fiscal year.

Per-Unit Standardization:

To ensure jurisdictions can be compared consistently, we use per-unit spending. For states, counties and cities, we used the U.S. Census Bureau's population data for each year. For school districts, we used the Oregon Department of Education fall membership report from that fiscal year.

Population and Inflation Calculation:

The central question we address in this app is: If a jurisdiction's spending kept pace with population and inflation since fiscal year 2016, how much would it spend this year?

In order to calculate this, we apply a simple formula for any given year:

2016 spending * (population of a given year/2016 population) * (inflation index of a given year/2016 inflation index)

While this is a hypothetical calculation, it is not an estimate. It uses known values and bases new data on this information.

For example, if we want to see what Clatsop County would have spent in 2021 if it had just kept pace with population and inflation, we would calculate the following:

$50,601,253 * (41,932/38,678) * (288.263/248.228) = $63,706,093 in 2025 dollars.

Footnotes

Civic Ledger · Published from a human-validated Google Sheet. Spending = Total Primary Government Expenses (GAAP Statement of Activities). Last published 2026-05-25.

CPI-U = Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, the standard inflation measure from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This Ledger uses the West Region series (CUUR0400SA0), not seasonally adjusted, June values.