Fiscal Trim Illuminating public finance.

Fiscal Trim is a civic‑tech platform dedicated to turning opaque public ledgers into practical intelligence for everyone—residents, reporters, watchdogs, and officials alike.

Our Mission

To make public finance truly public. When taxpayers can see how every dollar is raised, spent, and borrowed, they can ask better questions, shape smarter policy, and hold leaders accountable.

What makes us different

Comprehensive coverage

From 2012 through the latest year that public data is available, every local government unit lives in one searchable hub—no paywalls.

Source‑linked transparency

Every figure traces back to official Local Government Finance Historical Census Datasets so you can open the hood on our methodology.

Action‑ready metrics

Proprietary indicators like Spending Pressure®, Debt & Spending Index, and Taxes‑to‑Interest™ distill sprawling ledgers into single‑number snapshots.

Granular drill‑downs

Reveal the departments, programs, expense, revenue and debt data.

Benchmark & forecast tools

Compare Chicago’s municipal payroll to Phoenix’s, or project next year’s bond obligations with one toggle.

What you’ll see in seconds

  • City of Chicago School District 299 gained 42.6 % in total revenue from 2012‑2022 while long‑term debt climbed 44 %, partly driven by an 87 % jump in annual interest costs.
  • Chicago’s municipal government retired a record $3.6 B of debt in 2022—yet per‑capita obligations still rose to $8,649 because new liabilities kept pace.
  • Federal aid now tops property tax as Chicago’s fastest‑growing revenue source—a critical context point for budget debates over future funding cliffs.

Built for trust & impact

Open APIs & bulk downloads in Pro Version

Pipe our standardized data straight into your models and stories.

Plain‑English methodology

We transform publicly available census data into clear, easy-to-understand insights.

Side-by-side comparisons

Select any two entities - cities, counties, school districts, or pension funds - and instantly see where their revenues, spending, and debt diverge.

© 2025 Fiscal Trim · Illuminating public finance so communities can thrive.