Winnipeg, MB – Today, the City of Winnipeg launched a number of online tools that will help members of the public learn more about how their tax dollars are being invested, as well as the unfunded major capital projects the City is pursuing.
The City launched its Open Budget tool and its custom-developed Open Capital Projects Dashboard so that Winnipeggers can get further insight into the City’s active capital projects in a visually engaging, and interactive way. Both tools rely on the financial data shared on the City’s open data to generate the visual representations and will improve transparency and accountability in capital project management.
“Today’s announcement marks another significant step forward in making information more readily available to residents about how their tax dollars are being invested,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “These new tools make the City of Winnipeg amongst the civic leaders in Canada by making it easier for residents to access information on budget and capital projects in an open, accountable, and user-friendly way.”
Open Budget reports fundamental financial information of adopted budget, amended budget, and actual costs categorized by department, category and subcategory for the City’s entire portfolio of almost 700 open capital projects.
The first of its kind, the Open Capital Projects Dashboard complements Open Budget by reporting on the performance of the City’s active capital projects with budgets of $5 million or more. Project performance is a complex process that requires analysis of both financial and non-financial information. The dashboard’s schedule/cost variance matrix was custom developed to do this analysis and measures all projects’ performances based on costs and schedule criteria.
“These tools, and in particular the Open Capital Projects Dashboard are truly innovative,” said Cindy Gilroy, Chair of the Standing Policy Committee on Innovation. “They eliminate the complexity required to analyze capital projects by using the matrix.”
Also launched today is an unfunded major capital projects website, which aims to improve openness and transparency and to provide a status update as to the current cost and class estimate of unfunded major capital projects, as well as an update on potential financing options and active funding requests.
“The information posted online through the unfunded major capital projects website is truly foundational. Not only does it provide greater clarity for elected officials and members of the public, it gives Council a more robust set of data for which we can make informed decisions,” said Councillor Mike Pagtakhan, Council Liaison for Project Management. “This is all the more important, because as the city continues to grow, we will face difficult choices in funding capital projects, determining affordability, and what additional sources of revenue may be available to fund them.”
To access the Open Capital Projects Dashboard, please see: City of Winnipeg – Open Capital Projects Dashboard.
To view the Open Budget Portal, please see: City of Winnipeg – Open Budget.
Information regarding the City’s unfunded major capital projects can be accessed here: City of Winnipeg – Unfunded Major Capital Projects.