What governments are included?

• all of approximately 120 state government agencies, boards and commissions;
• all of the 39 counties;
• 260 of the 281 cities;
• all of the 296 school districts;
• 16 of the 19 transit authorities (data available for years 1997 forward); and
• 65 of the 76 port districts (data available for years 1997 forward).

For more information on the reporting of counties, cities, transit and port districts to the State Auditor’s Office, refer to Local Government Finance
   Reporting System: 2005 Data Status

What governments are not included?

• Park districts;
• Fire districts;
• Water and Sewer districts; and
• Library districts.

While this site is useful, it is important to remember that the data is not complete. For example, a complete financial picture of fire and emergency services is not available because the data from fire districts is not included at this time.

Where does the data come from?

• State Data:   Agency Financial Reporting System (AFRS); reported annually and managed by the State Office of Financial Management (OFM). The Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program (LEAP) adjusts state data for historical comparability and elimination of double-counting (see below).

• County, City, Transit, and Port Data:   Budgeting, Accounting and Reporting System (BARS) data; reported annually by local govenments and managed by SAO.

• School District Data:   School district annual financial reports; reported annually and managed by the OSPI.

What is included in the Expenditure and Revenue Categories?

What kind of assumptions can be made about the data?

This web site contains a wealth of information. Before making assumptions about the data however, be sure to explore the different comparison options available. For example, some cities and counties provide transit services. If you only select to view the revenues and expenditures for transit districts, you would not have a complete picture of transit services because the city and county data would not be included.

Another example is when you view data by fund type. If you select to view ‘general fund’ revenues or expenditures for an entity level as opposed to ‘all funds’ or ‘governmental funds’, you will get completely different results.

For definitions of what is included in the entity types and fund types, refer to the Appendices.

How are differences between accounting systems reconciled?

Some of the larger issues that were addressed are outlined below, including:

• Alignment of common data categories;
• Different fiscal years; and
• Elimination of double counting.

How are differences in fiscal years handled?

• State:   July 2004 – June 2005
• Cities/Counties/Transits/Ports:   January 2005 – December 2005
• School Districts:   September 2004 – August 2005

What is double-counting?

Interfund transfers are when an entity transfers funds between programs and/or make payments to other internal agencies for services received. For example, the Department of Social & Health Services pays to the Attorney General’s Office the costs incurred in providing legal advice and for representing the agency in legal proceedings.

Intergovernmental transfers are a transfer of funds between governmental jurisdictions. For example, a city may contract with a county for the provision of law enforcement services.

Both interfund and intergovernmental transfers appear twice or “double counted” in accounting systems. The transferring agency or entity accounts for it as a revenue and expenditure, and the receiving agency or entity accounts for it as a revenue and expenditure. When looking at raw financial data, revenues and expenditures can be overstated due to this accounting method.

How has the data on this web site been adjusted for double-counting?

Double counting for state intergovernmental transfers has been adjusted by showing revenue and expenditures at the entity level that is providing the service. For example, in 2005 the state distributed approximately $5 billion to local school districts. These funds are represented as revenues and expenditures for school districts only, and not at the state level.

Double counting for local intergovernmental transfers has been adjusted by showing revenue and expenditures at the entity level that is paying for the service. In the example of a city contracting with a county for law enforcement, the expenditure would appear for the city, not the county.

For more information on the business rules the State Auditor’s Office applied to the local government data, refer to Local Government Finance
   Reporting System: Business Rules

How are grants to local governments shown?

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