CHAPTER 1 
STATE AND LOCAL EXPENDITURES 
’ ‘HE investigator who desires to ascertain the cost of 
state and local government in any state is in most cases 
confronted with the fact that complete statistical in- 
formation is not available. Ample data on the expenditures 
of the state governments are readily obtainable, but in the 
case of the minor jurisdictions it is frequently found that 
the necessary data concerning the amounts expended for 
certain governmental functions have not been compiled, 
and that the records of many governmental units are not 
kept in such a manner that they can be used for purpose of 
statistical analysis. In the majority of states no state agency 
is specifically charged with the task of compiling data for 
the expenditures of the local governments. There appears 
to be an insufficient appreciation of the significance of such 
data on the part of legislative bodies. State officials in many 
instances have requested appropriations for the purpose of 
compiling complete local data, only to have their requests 
refused. Comparatively few states are in a position to fur- 
nish complete statistics concerning the cost of local govern- 
ment, and unfortunately Missouri is not one of them. 
Several federal agencies, however, have been active in 
overcoming the dearth in local governmental statistics. As 
a result of their work information is available concerning the 
expenditures of all cities having a population of more than 
30,000 and the expenditures of all minor divisions for road 
and school purposes, which are the two most important 
functions of local government, judged from the standpoint 
of amounts expended. In the case of Missouri the principal 
difficulty is in ascertaining the amounts expended for func- 
tions other than roads and schools. It is true that the ex- 
penditures for the latter functions comprise a large part of 
the total, but the absence of definite information for certain 
other functions precludes the possibility of complete analysis. 
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