Per capita statistics aren’t always the best way to measure something, least of all financial statements. Still, there are times that a graph comparison of “per capita” figures can show something important that isn’t readily apparent from other venues. Take municipal debt.

Now once upon a different age and place, and generally agreed upon by Israel, Greece, and Rome alike, was the belief that excessive debt was both unsustainable and even potentially immoral (when held against one’s kinsman)—until about the 15th century or so in Renaissance Europe, when the game of making money with money through loans and other bank financial instruments was first allowed as being a necessary evil, and then got slightly ‘out of hand’ you might say—if just a little.

We can’t put that genie back in the bottle (at least not at present), but a comparison of municipal balance sheets across Pierce County shows a sometimes wide divergence in the way that local governments plan their spending for today and tomorrow, as based in figures gathered down at the Wisconsin Policy Forum in its Municipal data tool. So what do the figures reveal?

Put simply, Maiden Rock wins the prize for Pierce County when it comes to overall municipal indebtedness, with a total reported debt figure for 2017 of zero dollars per capita—that’s ze- r-o, as in nada, nothing, the stated goal of fiscal conservatism. At the same time, Maiden Rock shows higher than average net basic spending at 812 dollars per capita, which may be driven in part by its relatively small population (remember that low “per capita” figures can skew graph appearances), but is also made possible by high shared revenue at 477 dollars per capita, while the next highest figure for shared revenue in Pierce County is Elmwood at 253 dollars per capita, with Plum City close by with 246 dollars per capita in shared revenue for 2017, the nearest year for which comparative data is available. Elmwood and Plum City are roughly comparable in population, with over 500 people each, and provide a better comparison than Maiden Rock for doing apples to apples budget comparison. Nevertheless, Plum City wins the numbers game in all three categories, with 246 dollars per capita in shared revenue to Elmwood’s 253, followed up with 296 dollars per capita in net basic spending to Elmwood’s 401, and 584 dollars per capita in overall indebtedness to Elmwood’s 953.

On the other hand, Elmwood’s figures suggest that this is due only in part to Plum City’s fiscal policy expressed as a “per capita” debt ratio, when taking into account that Elmwood has around 200 more people than Plum City, and should be able to take on more overall debt as a rule. Is the slightly higher per capita debt of Elmwood worth it then, or is it better to keep debt low and have a lower figure for net basic spending? The answer one gives to this will likely factor in their personal economic beliefs, and those of one’s fellow citizens. Then there’s Bay City, with a population of 495 and a “per capita” debt figure that surpasses Prescott, at 2,522 dollars per individual to Prescott’s 2,011. This is high by almost any measure.

For the City of Prescott meanwhile, the second highest per capita debt load of anywhere in Pierce County is balanced out somewhat and made necessary in part by a low shared revenue figure, the lowest in the county in fact, at just 75 dollars per capita. This low “shared revenue” from outside the municipality makes sense, moreover, when you consider the high wage earning power of Prescott residents overall, as measured by a total average filed tax return of $69,000—that’s higher than River Falls, which has just over half the per capita debt load of Prescott at 1,173 dollars per capita, with roughly comparable shared revenue and net basic spending.

Meanwhile, Ellsworth as the county seat stacks up well in relative terms, with all three variables of shared revenue, net basic spending and debt in relative balance vis à vis the others, which is what balancing the books is all about. Given that local government’s overall fiscal health along with its opposite of poor fiscal health can be inherited just as easily as being dug into with each passing generation, and that today’s students will fill tomorrow’s roster of government officials, perhaps the bigger takeaway from our small scale foray into government budgeting is this: if basic finance isn’t a required subject in school these days, it should be.