An eye-opening look at budgetary disclosure practices of local US government agencies. Typically referred to as the 'budget' or 'budget report', the discussion is framed to avoid any reference to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the CAFR. This is the biggest shell game played in government finance. Selectively created budget reports are presented to the population and the CAFR is never mentioned, hiding the true wealth held by local cities, counties and the state.
