500,000 local elected officials control more than $2 trillion of taxpayer money. And every day an estimated 1,500 public meetings are held in the United States, many of which relate to what happens to that $2 trillion. Local newspaper (and radio and TV) reporters used to tell us who said what, when, where, how and why local community decisions were made and our money was being spent. But since 2005, about 2,200 local newspapers have folded – two papers still close every week in the U.S., according to The Hill. These local news deserts are having a profound change on democracy in the U.S. One possible solution: enter the Documenters.