Explore the challenges and opportunities in collecting and analyzing open local government data in this 25-minute conference talk from ODSC West 2015. Delve into the complexities of gathering comprehensive information on over 91,000 local US governments, including cities, counties, school districts, and special authorities. Learn about key resources like EMMA and the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, and discover the GovWiki platform for capturing and reporting local government data. Gain insights into the importance of transparent government information for democratic accountability and understand the process of building open-source solutions for public sector data analysis. Benefit from the expertise of Marc Joffe, founder of Public Sector Credit Solutions, as he shares his experience in assessing municipal bond default probabilities and performing government debt simulations.