Methodology

Facts only. Sources first.

LocalFacts publishes public records, computed totals, and verbatim excerpts. It does not publish opinion, endorsements, ratings, or narrative analysis. Every published number links to the document it came from.

01 / Rules

What we publish.

The editorial rule is narrow on purpose.

Allowed

Labels, definitions, units, and periods.
Source notes, coverage labels, and limitations.
Verbatim excerpts from primary documents.
Candidate-provided answers, published unedited and labeled.
Calculator arithmetic from published rates, with assumptions.
Templated factual sentences generated from structured data.

Not allowed

Opinion, analysis, conclusions, or rankings.
Endorsements or vote recommendations.
Causal claims or “why it matters” commentary.
Paraphrased candidate answers.
AI-composed facts or narrative.
Anonymous or undocumented claims.

02 / Sources

One number, one source.

The source card records the publisher, document, page, retrieval date, and excerpt.

Official .gov documents and datasets are preferred.
Ballot facts come from county, city, school district, and Texas state sources — not third-party guides.
Calculated values show the formula and the rates used.
Partial or missing records are labeled before the data is presented.
No addresses, voter files, or other personal data are published.

City release County budget Comptroller

03 / Calculators

Arithmetic, not advice.

Your Money estimates use published rates. They are not bills, appraisals, or tax advice.

Inputs stay in your browser and are not stored.
Property tax = taxable value ÷ 100 × each published rate, summed by taxing unit.
Sales tax = taxable spending × each published rate; local and state portions shown separately.
Exemptions, caps, MUD/ESD rates, and appraisal changes can change the actual bill.

Open Your Money →

04 / Corrections

If we get it wrong.

Corrections are public, dated, and linked to the record.

Process

Send the record, page, and correction to hello@localfacts.org.
We re-check the primary source.
If the record is wrong, we correct it and publish the correction note.
Right-of-reply is offered before new connection pages are published.

Corrections log

Open corrections →

No corrections are currently published.

05 / Limits

What LocalFacts is not.

Plain limits, so the record is not mistaken for something else.

LocalFacts is not a CPA firm, does not conduct audits or investigations, and does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. “The Books” is a sourced public-records project. Audit references are to the City's own Single Audit Report. Candidate answers are candidate-provided statements, not LocalFacts findings.