The federal government is the ring people argue about most and can change least. It is also the one whose decisions arrive locally in the most disguised form — as a grant condition, a highway standard, a flood map, a permit your city cannot issue until someone in another state signs it.
Congress, the President, and the federal agencies and courts. It sets national law, spends a national budget, and attaches conditions to money it sends down through the other rings.
It does not run your city, set your property tax rate, or approve your fence. When a federal decision reaches your street, it almost always arrives through the state, the county, or the city — which is why it can be hard to see that it started here.
The Council keeps a national surface on the same terms as the town ledger: figures traced to sources, corrections published.
The Council on Local Relations does one thing: it establishes the record and keeps it honest. We do not organize, campaign, or tell you what to do about any of it — the moment we did, every fact above would be worth less.
Want to do something about it? That is Think and Act Locally — a separate organization, where residents meet about what the record shows.