Methodology
How the Apex Budget Explorer data is organized
The explorer converts published budget documents into a consistent fiscal-year dataset. The goal is to make comparisons easier while preserving the original fund, department, and line-item structure as much as possible.
Primary data sources
The main dataset is data/budget.csv. It combines adopted and draft budget values across fiscal years, plus actual values when those are available in published budget books. Supporting department and line-item descriptions are stored in data/department-info.json.
Fiscal-year columns
Budget columns use fiscal-year labels such as FY24-25, FY25-26, and FY26-27 DRAFT. Actual columns use the same fiscal-year label followed by Actual when the source material reports actual spending. Draft and proposed years are displayed separately from adopted budget years where applicable.
Department and line-item normalization
Some line items and departments are renamed across budget books. The explorer normalizes obvious label changes so long-running trends remain comparable. When a new line item represents a distinct budget category, it is preserved as its own row.
Property tax receipt estimates
The receipt view estimates how a property tax bill maps to General Fund services. It uses the selected property value, the applicable town tax rate, and the relative share of eligible General Fund spending. Enterprise funds such as electric, water and sewer, and stormwater are excluded from the property tax allocation because they are primarily fee-funded.
Known limitations
- The explorer is only as accurate as the source documents and import mappings.
- Budget categories may change over time, so some comparisons require judgment.
- Draft-year values can change before final adoption.
- Receipt estimates are explanatory allocations, not official tax bills.
Data access
The data is available in browser-readable files for review and reuse: budget CSV, department metadata, and notes metadata.