NYC Council Launches Public Dashboards to Advance Transparency and Equity in City Budget Process

NEW YORK, NY - Today, the New York City Council launched its new Budget Dashboards, an innovative, public tool to make the City's budget process more transparent, accessible, and equitable for New Yorkers. The two dashboards, created by the Council's Finance Division, Web Development Unit, and Data Team, translate dense budget books into easy-to-understand pie charts that visualize the City's budgeted expenses and projected revenue sources from Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 to Fiscal Year 2027. Users can view the budgeted spending by city agency and unit of appropriation and compare changes at each stage of the budget cycle.

"Transparency is the foundation of trust in government," said Speaker Julie Menin. "With the launch of this first-of-its-kind Finance Dashboard, we are giving New Yorkers the tools to see, understand, and engage with how public dollars are allocated. This is about more than data-it's about equity, accountability, and ensuring every community has visibility into the decisions that shape their lives."

The expense dashboard separates each Financial Plan into categories, including Education, Social Services, Infrastructure, Public Safety, and Pensions, Debt Service, and Fringe Benefits, to display their share of the City's expense budget. The revenue dashboard shows the Mayor's Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) projected tax revenue from various tax sources, including Personal Income, Real Property, Sales, and more. The dashboards will be updated in correspondence with each future Financial Plan. In the coming months, fiscal years prior to FY21 will be viewable in the dashboards as well.

The Council's Budget Dashboards were built with the goal of making public budget data more accessible, transparent, and equitable for all New Yorkers, including communities that historically lack access to the City's budget process. By providing the public with a new, user-friendly resource, the Council is further democratizing the city budget to empower more New Yorkers to navigate and understand the opaque process and better understand the impact of financial decisions that are being made on their behalf.

"Making the City's budget more transparent is fundamental to building a government that is accessible, accountable, and responsive," said Deputy Speaker Dr. Nantasha Williams. "I was proud to bring this concept to the Council, including advancing the idea of a public-facing dashboard to make the budget easier for New Yorkers to navigate and understand. This is just the beginning. As we continue to push forward, my focus remains on deepening budget equity and transparency ensuring not only that people can see where resources are going, but that those investments are aligned with the needs of our communities. When New Yorkers have clear, accessible information, they are empowered to engage, ask questions, and advocate for what they deserve. That level of visibility strengthens our budget process, builds public trust, and moves us closer to a more equitable city."

"New Yorkers should know how their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent, and the launch of the Budget Dashboards will provide greater transparency and clarity on how our government works," said Council Member Linda Lee, Chair of the Committee on Finance. "City budgeting is layered and intricate, but that complexity should not obscure New Yorkers' understanding of our financial planning. We have an obligation to equip residents with the tools they need to understand our City's fiscal decisions, and the Budget Dashboards provide resources that encourage them to remain engaged in our City's budget process."

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