This article is intended for: Admin users with a Financial Engagement subscription.
Use this article for: Adding the Debt widget to your Engagement Website, entering the debt data it displays, and understanding how the two connect.
Note: You can click on any image below to zoom in.
What is the Debt Widget?
The Debt widget is one of Financial Engagement's financial storytelling widgets, alongside Demographics and Revenue & Expenditures, and gives residents a plain-language view of what your organization owes, broken into categories like Payments, Interest, and any undesignated balance.
The Debt widget displays the data that has been entered into the ClearGov Debt Tool. If your organization already uses the Debt Tool for Budget Book, the Debt widget will pull from that same data, there's nothing to re-enter.
Add the Debt Widget to Your Site
- Navigate to Content & Design then Design and select the page where you want debt information to appear
- Select + Add Widget and choose Debt
- Edit via the action dots > edit pencil, similar to the other financial widgets
Note: Once added, the widget lets a visitor filter by Year and Fund, and switch between Pie, Bar, and Mountain chart views, the same filter and chart pattern used by the Revenue & Expenditures widget.
What Residents See
Once data is entered and summed, the widget displays for the selected year and fund:
- A total debt figure at the top
- A chart (Pie, Bar, or Mountain) breaking down debt by category, with each category's dollar total, share of total debt, and a per-person figure
- A More Details link on each category card for further breakdown
- A short narrative block explaining, in plain language, where debt comes from (for example, that it's typically taken on to finance schools, roads, bridges, and other public works projects)
- A Debt Over Time chart showing the trend across years
Additional Resources
Check out our other training resources to learn more:
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