Rock Solid Reporting
+
Hard Data
= The Numbers Minus The Spin

Bypass the political narrative and access the raw financial reality

See Where Every Dollar Goes

Six complete fiscal years of City of Ann Arbor finances, FY2021–FY2026 (fiscal years run July 1–June 30) — every fund, every service, every vendor, every account — in three interactive reports and a build-your-own chart tool that link together, so your filters travel with you and the question you're chasing never gets lost between pages.

  • Revenue vs Expense Trend — revenue and expense matched at every level with Net (surplus/deficit) computed for each fund, area, unit, and citywide. Condensed view rolls up to budget Category; Detailed view drills to each of 650+ individual accounts. One click on Chart It sends your exact filtered view to the Insights Builder as a ready-made graphic.
  • Follow the Money — trace outflows from each funding source (Fund) to the Service Areas and Units that spend them: pick a fund and see where it goes, or pick a service and see who pays for it. Every flow has a See the detail → link that opens the trend report already filtered to that fund and service.
  • Vendor Payments — who the city pays: 10,000+ vendors, ranked by spend or A–Z, filterable by Service Unit or pass-through payments, each vendor expandable to its year-by-year detail. Chart It turns your current vendor view — even a single vendor — into an Insights chart.
  • Insights chart builder — build your own graphic: pick a slice of the data, compare up to four funds, services, or vendors side by side, choose from trend, ranked, composition, and other chart types, then download a branded PNG or copy a link that recreates your exact chart. Trend It takes any chart back to the full Revenue vs Expense report with the same filters applied.
  • Every tool: filters, search, year selection, and CSV or image download of any view — plus gold buttons that carry your exact selection from one tool to the next.
Follow the Money → Rev vs Expense Trend → Vendor Payments → Insights Builder →
Step 1 — Pick a viewChoose a report, then group by Fund, Service Area, Service Unit, Category, or Vendor.
Step 2 — FilterNarrow to a fund type, specific funds, units, or years — or just type in the search box.
Step 3 — Follow the pathChart It sends your view to the Insights Builder; Trend It brings any chart back to the full report; every view downloads as CSV.
How the Money Is Organized

Every dollar in the city ledger sits on one path:

Fund→Service Area→Service Unit→Category→Account
70+Funds
11Service Areas
40+Service Units
650+Accounts
Revenue examples: property tax levies (Taxes, 30+ forms); airport leases and parking (Charges for Services); federal and state grants, including ARPA (Intergovernmental); building, electrical, and fire permits (Licenses & Permits).
Expense examples: salaries, benefits, and insurance (Personnel Services / Payroll Fringes); land, construction, and vehicles (Capital Outlay); software, utilities, and contracts (Other Charges / Other Services); chemicals, uniforms, and repair parts (Materials & Supplies).

The reports follow this same path — group by any level, then drill down. Vendor payments add one more link: the specific payee at the end of the chain.

Where the Data Comes From

All figures are pulled from the City of Ann Arbor's A2OpenBook ledger, which draws directly from the City's LOGOS financial database and is updated daily. Data is presented on a fund-statement (pre-elimination) basis, consistent with the adopted budget.

Figures are cross-checked against the City's independently audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports: FY2021–FY2024 totals validated within 1–2% of the audited ACFRs (Rehmann Robson LLC, unmodified opinions). FY2026 ledger figures may precede final audited statements.

Scope note: the Downtown Development Authority and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission maintain their own financial systems, and the Housing Commission's budget is not required to be approved by Council. Their activity appears here only where it flows through City funds.
Why This Matters
Follow the MoneyTrace any dollar from the citywide total down to the specific fund, department, account — and vendor — it ran through, across all six years, FY2021–FY2026.
Spot Trends EarlyA six-year matched view of revenue vs expense shows trajectory shifts — growing gaps, spending spikes, unspent millages — before they become crises.
Hold Leaders AccountableMaterial items are spotlighted on the Findings page, every chart is one click from the ledger rows behind it, and every number traces back to the City's own public data.