ABSTRACT
Government budgets encompass a great diversity of formats and procedures. Governments vary in what activities and programs they cover in their principal budget documents; they make different choices about when in the course of a budget plan’s development to prepare and release a budget document. Budgeting is often described as a cycle consisting of four stages: preparation, approval, implementation, and review. Budget instructions can sometimes be helpful to citizens and others trying to understand budgets, and they are often available online. Communities often devote special attention to the development and consideration of budgets for major capital improvements such as roads, bridges, and schools. The influence a legislative body has over a budget, relative to the executive, varies across jurisdictions. A budget reflects choices officials have made concerning coverage—that is, about which organizations to include and which to treat elsewhere. A number of influences come together to produce the spending and revenue figures in budgets.
