A new government Open Finance Portal that allows easy-access to city financial data launched Monday, March 11, the City of Murfreesboro announced in a press release.

"We are pleased to announce the new Socrata Open Finance Portal for open access and transparency of City budget and financial data to the general public," Budget Director Erin Tucker said. "The City has long been recognized as a leader in financial reporting but with the help of Socrata, citizens, businesses, and community organizations can easily stay informed about our budgeting processes through the electronic portal."

Citizens can access the Open Finance Portal at murfreesborotn.gov/openrecords.

The portal includes Open Budget, which allows users to view details about the City's Revenue sources, expenditures and operating budgets for each fiscal year. The site additionally highlights budget-to-actual information and provides a variety of charts for users to compare data.

Also available through the portal is Open Checkbook, which allows users to explore expenditures during the City's annual fiscal year, July 1-June 30. Information in Open Checkbook can be viewed by vendor or by City Department.

"The Open Financial portal furthers the City's ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability," Tucker added. "The charts, graphs, and tables are highly interactive."

Citizens and visitors can browse real-time data related to the City's financial records in a user-friendly format.

The information is updated nightly to reflect the most accurate and timely financial transactions in the growing City of Murfreesboro.

The Open Finance Portal includes the City's General Fund, the Murfreesboro Water Resources Department, and the Murfreesboro Stormwater Fund.

Currently, however, the portal does not incorporate financial data for either the Murfreesboro Electric Department (MED) or Murfreesboro City Schools (MCS). These city entities currently maintain separate accounting systems.