About

The project

GovXRay presents the finances of the public authorities serving the same resident. Starting from a city, spending and revenue, assets and liabilities, and the taxes and contributions in a modelled scenario can be explored across government levels or for each level separately.

Published today

• City profiles: spending and revenue, assets and debts, taxation, for the stack or for each level.
• Comparator: two to six cities side by side, on Compare.
• Method: definitions, calculations and limitations, on the Method page.
• Updates: data published, corrections and method changes, dated, on Updates.

Under study, not published

• a browsable history of data revisions;
• an in-depth comparative report between cities.

The government stack

Municipal finances cover only part of public activity. The government stack brings together the authorities associated with a place, with their responsibilities and reference populations. Per-capita amounts are an analytical indicator, not a personal bill.

How tiers, populations and transfers are handled: Method, Understanding the stack.

Principles

The project is non-partisan. Figures should be accompanied by their source, definition and limitations. A difference in spending does not, by itself, measure service quality or efficiency. Missing data and assumptions are identified.

Sources, comparability and gaps, in detail: Method, Sources and comparability.

Publisher and contact

Publisher: Dubé Data Bureau (Bureau de données Dubé), a project by Charles-Olivier Dubé.