By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at Patch.com
The State Controllers’ Office has released a new website showing revenues, expenses, assets, and liablities of Local Agencies in California
https://bythenumbers.sco.ca.gov/about/
In his ongoing effort to promote transparency in government, Controller John Chiang created this website to make it easier for taxpayers to track revenues, expenditures and other financial data reported by California’s 58 counties and more than 450 cities.
The data presented on this site should not be used as a substitute for financial data disclosed for securities offerings such as bond issues. Local governments with outstanding debt securities are required to report certain financial information and operating data, as well as information regarding certain material developments with respect to their securities, and file such information and operating data with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA).
For investment advice on bonds or other securities of the reporting local governments, please contact your investment advisor. No statement found on this site may be incorporated by reference in any offering document prepared for the purpose of offering securities of any of the reporting local governments. By choosing to view the information on this site, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood and accept the terms of this disclaimer.
Below are answers to frequently asked questions:
- What is open data?
- What data is available?
- What is the source of this data?
- What is unaudited data?
- What should I know when comparing local governments?
- Where can I find data for San Francisco?
- Where can I learn about terms commonly used on this site?
- Where can I find the Controller’s other data-related projects?
- Is there more data beyond what’s available through this site’s user’s interface?
- Do you offer tools for developers to build apps?
- What browsers perform best with this site?
What is open data?
Open data allows information to be freely used, reused and redistributed by anyone. The Controller established this website to encourage users to review, compare, visualize, and analyze data – and share their discoveries – in real time.
We believe open data has the potential to support a range of outcomes from identifying wasteful spending and increasing government efficiency to promoting community involvement and improving California’s business climate.
What data is available?
This site includes revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities and other financial information submitted by cities and counties for Fiscal Years 2002-03 through 2012-13.
Cities and Counties pages offer dropdowns allowing users to drill into specific fund types.
It contains information for governmental funds, which account for most basic services such as administration and public safety as well as proprietary funds, which account for business-type activities (e.g., an electrical utility) paid for through user fees or commodity-based revenues.
The cities and counties pages on this website offer dropdowns allowing users to drill into more specific financial information:
Cities: (click categories below to expand view of options)
- Revenues +
- Expenditures +
- Liabilities by Fund +
- Assets by Fund +
- Fund Equity +
- Statistics +
- Bonded Indebtedness +
- Other Long-Term Indebtedness +
- Construction Financed by the U.S. and/or State +
- Lease Obligations +
Counties: (click categories below to expand view of options)
- Revenues +
- Expenditures +
- Liabilities by Fund +
- Assets by Fund +
- Fund Equity +
- Statistics +
- Bonded Indebtedness +
- Other Long-Term Indebtedness +
- Construction Financed by the U.S. and/or State +
- Lease Obligations +
What is the source of this data?
Cities and counties are required by law to report financial data to the Controller, including funds they received and earned (revenues) and funds spent (expenditures), as well as property they own (assets) and amounts they owe to others (liabilities).
California Government Code section 53891 requires this data to be submitted to the Controller in paper format within 90 days after the close of the fiscal year, or in the required electronic format within 110 days.
The information is reviewed, compiled, and then published by the Controller in an annual financial transaction report. Data on this site is drawn from those reports.
What is unaudited data?
The data on this site is unaudited, which means it has not been submitted to an outside, independent auditor for review. The data appears as the local government has submitted it to the Controller in fulfillment of its annual reporting requirement.
The information is useful to anyone interested in examining the financial transactions of individual local governments. Because the data covers 11 years, it may aid in understanding financial trends. In some cases, it may be useful for comparing the expenditure of taxpayer dollars and revenue sources among local governments.
What should I know when comparing local governments?
Counties generally follow standard accounting guidelines, which allows for comparison. Revenue account titles and the classification of expenditures by functions and activities are in accordance with Accounting Standards and Procedures for Counties of California, as outlined in Government Code section 30200.
There are not uniform accounting procedures for California cities such as those that exist for California counties. Therefore, users should be cautious when making comparisons because data elements and how they are compiled may differ from one city to the next.