City's New Portal Allows Public To See City Expenditures

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin promised when he was running for the mayor's office last fall that he would promote more transparency in the city government. The latest measure Woofin has taken is at least one return on that promise, as the city announced this week its Open Checkbook portal on the city’s website as the latest step in efforts to promote transparency and accountability.

The Open Checkbook documents budgeting and expenditures dating back to fiscal year 2009. The portal consists of nearly a million pieces of data per fiscal year.

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“The Open Checkbook portal is helping us uphold our campaign promise of a transparent government,” Woodfin said. “I encourage everyone to visit the portal and see exactly how we’re directing our resources to make Birmingham stronger.”

To access the portal, visit birminghamal.gov. Find the Open Data portal on the top menu bar, then click Transparency.

Visitors can view four separate reports:

• The Annual Report provides the amount of money allocated to each department in the City of Birmingham for each fiscal year
• The Budget to Actual Report shows the money budgeted for each department and how much money was spent on each department for every fiscal year
• Neighborhood Allocations allows visitors to view all money allocated to each neighborhood association for all 99 neighborhoods
• Transaction Report details all individual transactions made from each department, with detailed descriptions.

Photo by Michael Seale/Patch

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