Spending transparency dashboard prototype

This independent prototype explores how municipal spending data could be made more legible without introducing a system that requires a dedicated maintenance budget. It is not a completed client engagement.

Constraints

The design assumes no server, minimal hosting cost, and no engineering staff to inherit it. It uses a quarterly export in a stable, documented format.

What was built

The proposed implementation is a prerendered site regenerated by a scheduled job from the quarterly export. Every figure would link to its source row, and the full dataset would remain downloadable in a common spreadsheet format.

Charts use the direct-labeling approach explored in Charts that survive without color and avoid relying on color alone.

Intended outcome

The prototype demonstrates a workflow intended to support recurring publication without ongoing developer involvement. It illustrates the practice approach and the capabilities described in Reporting and decision systems; implementation with a real data owner would require validation, accessibility review, and a maintenance agreement.