Made by Andrew Baber, a Marblehead homeowner and parent. Not on the Select Board, the Finance Committee, or any other town body, and not affiliated with any campaign or advocacy group.
I started this site to make Marblehead's budget legible: where the money comes from, where it goes, and how the town got to where it is. The same editorial rules apply to every side of an argument; the style guide spells them out. If you find a place where they slip, report it.
An AI assistant (Claude) handles the research, analysis, and digital infrastructure behind this site. Reading 39 primary-source PDFs totaling over 3,000 pages of ACFRs, DLS reports, PERAC valuations, and budget documents and turning them into charts is a good fit for what current AI tools are actually useful for. That said, they can and do make mistakes, and I don't re-verify every number against the original document myself. I try to keep it as neutral as I can.
If you have git and Claude Code installed, you can check the work from your terminal. The repo's CLAUDE.md and STYLE_GUIDE.md will orient Claude automatically.
git clone https://github.com/agbaber/marblehead
cd marblehead
claude "audit this site. find the bias. follow the money. be skeptical."Found a mistake? Open an issue or a pull request on GitHub. A bias remediation plan from the April 2026 audit tracks specific edits made in response to reader and AI-audit feedback.