地方政府預算最主要的決策者為地方首長，其次是行政官僚的各機關首長與財政機關首長，再其次才是議會；在預算考量因素上，地方首長的競選政見與法定辦理事項是最為重要的兩點原因。因此本文檢驗歷屆苗栗縣長當選人所提出的重要的優先政見，查看有沒有執行並比較他們的競選政見與財政支出決算，以檢驗其政見承諾是否兌現？本研究發現歷屆苗栗縣長當選人所提重要的優先政見，若屬於較具體的政見，如補助社區巡守隊裝備，達標的機率相對較高，而屬於原則性的政見其被達標的機率相對較低，主要原因是民眾對具體的政見較容易檢視，兌現與否無從抵賴，執政的縣長為了避免被攻擊因而努力兌現競選承諾；至於那些原則性的政見因內容較為模糊，民眾難以檢驗成果，縣長就有意無意間把它們忽略了。所以基於民主政治下，統治者向被治者負責的基本原則，未來應嚴格要求候選人在選舉公報上提出具體的政見訴求，於當選後民眾才有檢驗其選舉承諾是否兌現，以作為未來支持與否的依據。

The most important decision-makers regarding the budgets of local governments in Taiwan are the county magistrates, followed by the heads of the administrative departments and then the local legislators. Hence the campaign platforms of county magistrate candidates and the processes and practices prescribed by the law are the most important factors affecting the budgets of local governments. This article intends to examine whether the priority policy programmes of the Miaoli county magistrates since 1993 have been implemented as reflected by each year’s accounts. It finds that if the priority policy programmes are well defined, the probabilities of their respective implementation are higher; and if they are defined in principle only, the probabilities of their implementation are correspondingly lower because they are hard to be inspected by the citizens. As “the rulers are responsible to the ruled” is the basic law for a democracy, this article suggests that the candidates should be bound by law to provide the definite policy programmes in the election gazettes. Hence citizens can better make their judgments in casting their ballots based on the candidates’ concrete policy programmes.