波士頓市長公佈網站 讓市民深入查市府預算

波士頓市長馬丁華殊（Martin Walsh）競選時誓言公開，果然來真的，昨（九）日宣佈，市府的財務及預算部門將和創新及科技部門合作，公開預算，幫助大眾了解波士頓市政府的預算，並和政府互動。

            波市府這放在網上的應用程式，網址為 budget.data.cityofboston.gov。民眾將可藉由這網站，搜尋市府預算數據，認識市府的優先項目，追隨趨勢，並追蹤各自社區的土地發展計劃（capital projects）。

            馬丁華殊表示，他誓言他的政府會透明，接近民眾，他們將繼續找方法擴大提供給大眾的數據，並改善其使用介面。他說，市府預算決定市府工作的範疇，所以讓大眾有機會深入了解很重要，因為政府是藉著預算來為市民工作。

            這一“公開預算”計劃，將允許使用者把2015財政年度的18.8億元的樓宇預算（capital busget），以及27.3億元的各部門營運預算，整理成一張表，或是一張圖。每一內閣部門的預算，還能進一步的看到各附屬部門的計劃支出，以及各部門的營運預算歷史資訊。

            那些圖表功能可容許使用者一眼望出來，預算分配的比例，也能經由點擊，逐項查看。一份互動式的地圖，能更讓使用者深入許多計劃在他們的社區進行的特定項目。

            這一公開預算的數據內容及工具，包括容許大眾查閱和政府交易的企業名單，開支總額等。

Mayor Walsh Announces Expansion of Open Data Offerings

BOSTON – Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that the Office of Finance and Budget, in conjunction with the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT), has launched Open Budget to assist the public’s interaction and understanding of the City of Boston budget. The web-based application, located at budget.data.cityofboston.gov, allows users to explore the City’s budget data, identify city priorities, follow trends, and track capital projects in their neighborhoods.

“I’m committed to transparency and accessibility in my administration, and we continue to look for ways to expand what data is available to the public and how to improve its public interface,” said Mayor Walsh. “The city budget drives the scope of the work the city is doing, so it’s important that the public can have the opportunity to dive into it, and understand how we’re using the budget to make government work for them.”

Open Budget allows users to sort the FY15 $1.88 billion capital budget and $2.73 billion operating budget for each cabinet into a list or bar graph. Each cabinet budget can be further expanded to view planned expenditures for each associated department, as well as viewing each department’s historical operating budget information. The bar graph feature allows users to visualize how the budget is being proportionally allocated, in addition to providing a simple, easy to understand, click through platform. An interactive map enables users to delve deeper into many of the specific projects planned in their neighborhoods.

Open Budget adds to the suite of open data and financial tools available to the public, such as the City of BostonOpen Checkbook, which allows the public to view the list of vendors the city is working with and total vendor expenditures, and the City of Boston Open Data Portal.