POL, how should voters evaluate fiscal policies of taxing bodies?

In an earlier discussion Chris Miller asked for information about the Village of Forest Park's budget and spending history.

And do you also have any information on the village budgets over the past 10 years -- like what was the total v income/expenses in 1996 compared to 2001 compared to 2006 ?

(and where the changes mostly came from ?)

These just seem to be things we ought to know going into this election.

Chris Miller's question raises a larger issue.

How should voters evaluate taxing bodies on fiscal issues? The easiest way is to say, "I agree/disagree with the last tax increase" or "I'm impressed [taxing body] hasn't raised taxes."

But these statements are pretty simplistic. It seems like there should be an online resource for looking at the taxing bodies history of revenue and expenses and there should be comparison with comparable taxing bodies. Then academics and other experts could question areas where individual taxing bodies appear to be spending too much.

BLOG, how do blogs interact with local politics?

Forest Park Review (Dave McCarthy) wrote about blogs in local elections focusing on village races in Forest Park.

McCarthy's points:

1. Blogs provide forums for candidates and voters to interact.
2. Blogs often fill a niche under served by other media outlets.
3. Mayor Calderone engages in criticizing of the Forest Park Review.
4. The popularity of the website formerly known as ForestPark.com was discussed.
5. Calderone and Doolin criticized th discourse on the website formerly known as....
6. The expert said that bloggers are often partisan and there is mudslinging.

The web statistics are off slightly b/c McCarthy use the counter on the profile pages. Many people visit blogs without going to the profile page. And in cases where someone writes multiple blogs the profile page predates the more recent blogs.

John Plepel made a good point about the mudslinging. Blogs didn't invent it. Blogs are merely a new medium for it.

In the 1998 primaries three Democrats were vying for Secretary of State: Tim McCarthy, State Senator Penny Severns and then Recorder of Deeds Jesse White. Through what was probably a mishap I was invited into a closed-door meeting with a powerful ward boss who was backing Severns.

The ward boss sought to disparage McCarthy getting shot while protecting President Ronald Reagan. He concocted a story that Secret Service agent McCarthy had skipped out on protecting Reagan and was getting a hot dog when the shooting occurred. To cover for his dereliction of duty McCarthy shot himself.

So, count me as agreeing with Plepel. Politics was nasty before blogs were conceived.

What are your thoughts about the role of blogs in local politics?