Data regarding State of Kansas agency spending presented in an interactive visualization.
The source of this data is KanView, the Kansas transparency portal, through its download center. Data from multiple years are combined into one database. Data starts with fiscal year 2011.
Of this data, KanView advises: “Agency expenditure data is available by Agency Fund Type, Agency Primary Expenditure Accounts, and by Agency Program.” The various views of the visualization show this data arranged in these ways.
Regarding accounts, KanView offers this explanation:
State expenditures are classified at a primary, intermediate, and detail level account codes. These classifications facilitate the various levels of reporting detail required for budgetary, financial, management, or other reports.
Seven primary expenditure classifications are prescribed. Intermediate classifications are assigned within each primary classification. Within each intermediate classification is the detail classifications used to code accounting transactions.
The prescribed primary classifications are:
- Salaries and Wages: Amounts paid to, or on behalf of, elected or appointed state officials and employees.
Contractual Services: Payments for communications, freight and express, printing and advertising, rentals, repairing and servicing, employee travel expense reimbursement, utilities, and professional or other services.
Commodities: Payments for consumable supplies, maintenance materials and parts, and other miscellaneous purchases.
Capital Outlay: Payments for machinery, equipment, land, vehicles, buildings and other major purchases.
Grants, Claims and Shared Revenue: Disbursements for grants, claims, shared revenue and other related disbursements where the disbursing agency does not receive a direct service or tangible asset.
Debt Service: Payments of principal, interest and service charges on borrowed money.
Non-Expense Items: Disbursements for refunds, advances, investments and other disbursements not properly classified as governmental expenditures.
Expense Transfers: Agency use of transfer account codes is generally only on interfund transactions between state agencies. Transfers move cash from one fund to another fund within the State Treasury.
Regarding functions:
The function view identifies expenditures for high-level activities and programs of the State, upon selecting a high-level function, specific programs within this function can then be displayed for a particular state agency.
Major State Functions include: General Administration, Human Resources, Education, Public Safety, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Highways and Other Transportation, Health and Environment, Economic Development, Lottery, and Universities.
For funds, KanView explains:
A “fund” is the fundamental unit of accounting designed to demonstrate legal compliance and to aid financial management by segregating transactions related to certain governmental functions or activities. Fund View initially displays the major fund types denoting the high-level purpose of the underlying funds as classified in the statewide accounting and reporting system. Upon selecting a major fund type, specific funds can then be displayed for a particular state agency. Each agency fund is further segregated by individual accounts (for budgetary or other legal requirements) which provides an additional level of classification.
Valid major fund types and descriptions are:
- State General Fund: The primary operating fund of the State. It accounts for all financial resources of the State except those required to be accounted for in another fund. The state general fund is primarily supported by tax revenue.
Special Revenue Funds: Funds established for specific purposes normally specified by state statutes, or in the case of federal grants, for purposes specified by the federal government. These funds are primarily supported by user fees or grants.
Capital Projects Funds: Funds established to account for the acquisition and construction of major capital facilities other than those financed by proprietary funds and trust funds.
Debt Service Funds: Funds established to account for the accumulation of resources and the payment of long term debt principal and interest.
Enterprise Funds: Funds established to account for activities that are generally of a business nature where goods or services a sold to the general public or similar customer groups.
Internal Service Funds: Funds established to account for goods and services provided to other state agencies or internal departments on a cost-reimbursement basis.
Trust and Agency Funds: Trust funds contain monies received, held, and disbursed by the State acting as a trustee, agent, or custodian. Agency funds contain monies collected by the State as an agent and disbursed to other governments, businesses or individuals.
Component Units Funds: Funds of component unit(s). A component unit is a legally separate organization for which the primary government is financially accountable.
This visualization is experimental. I would appreciate feedback on views of this data that would be useful.
Click here to access the visualization.
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