How to Read a Local Government Budget Record

The three parts of the record

The record begins with a summary page. The summary page names the total revenue, the total expenditure, and the year the record covers. The summary is followed by the revenue schedule, which lists each source of money the local government expects: the federal allocation, the state allocation, internally generated revenue from markets and motor parks, and any grant the local government expects. The expenditure schedule follows, listing each office — the chairman's office, the secretary's office, the works department, the health department, the agriculture department, and the education department — and each activity under the office, with a figure for each activity. The record ends with the approved sum page, which repeats the total the House of Assembly passed into law.

The revenue schedule

The revenue schedule has one line for each source of money. The federal allocation is the figure the federal government sends to the local government each month from the federation account. The state allocation is the figure the state government sends from the state's own share of the federation account. The internally generated revenue is the money the local government collects from markets, motor parks, shops, and land registrations. A grant is the money a federal agency or a foreign fund sends for a specific project. A reader who wants to know how much money the local government controls opens the revenue schedule and writes down the figure for each of the four sources. The total is the money the local government plans to spend during the year.

The expenditure schedule

The expenditure schedule has one line for each office and one line for each activity under the office. The chairman's office holds money for travel, for fuel, for security, and for the chairman's own staff. The works department holds money for road maintenance, for drainage, and for street lighting. The health department holds money for primary health centres, for immunisation, and for maternal care. The education department holds money for primary schools, for teacher allowances, and for school meals. A reader who wants to know what the local government plans to spend on primary health opens the expenditure schedule, finds the health department, and writes down the figure for each health activity. The total of those figures is the local government's plan for health for the year.

The approved sum page

The approved sum page repeats the total the House of Assembly passed into law. The page also names the date the law was signed and the date the law took effect. A reader who wants to know whether the record she holds is the version the House passed opens the approved sum page and compares the figure on the page with the total on the summary page. When the two figures match, the record is the approved version. When they differ, the record is a draft and not a law. The clerk of the House of Assembly holds the signed copy.

How to compare the three parts

A reader compares the three parts in three steps. The first step is to compare the total revenue on the summary page with the total of the revenue schedule. When the two match, the revenue schedule is complete. The second step is to compare the total expenditure on the summary page with the total of the expenditure schedule. When the two match, the expenditure schedule is complete. The third step is to compare the total on the summary page with the figure on the approved sum page. When the two match, the record is the version the House passed. Any mismatch is a finding. A reader writes the mismatch in a notebook and takes the notebook to the council chairman's office in writing.

What to look for on each line

A reader opens the record on the first day with four questions. First, does every office named in the record have a line in both the revenue schedule and the expenditure schedule? An office with an expenditure line but no revenue source is a gap. Second, does every activity named in the expenditure schedule have a figure? A line with a blank figure is a gap. Third, is the figure for each activity reasonable in relation to the work the activity names? A figure of one hundred thousand naira for a road that needs one kilometre of asphalt is a mismatch. Fourth, is the approved sum page signed and dated by the House of Assembly? A page without a signature and date is not a law.

What the record does not show

The record shows plan, not outcome. To know whether the local government actually spent the money on each line, the reader needs the financial statement the local government publishes at the end of the year. The financial statement names the actual amount spent on each line and the actual amount received from each revenue source. The record and the financial statement are two separate documents. A reader who wants to know whether the plan matched the spending opens both documents and compares the figures line by line.

What WATAG does with this

WATAG trains women to read a local government budget record and to write down three findings: a line with a mismatched figure, a line with no revenue source, and a line with no approved sum. Participants in the WATAG budget monitoring campaign read budget records from their own local government and publish the findings. The record a participant produces is a public record and is kept with the WATAG file for that local government. The training uses the same budget records the campaign uses.