Public Money · Accountability

Accountability console

Public projects followed from the first budget to the day they close: what was promised, what was approved, every change order and payment we can find, and what it cost in the end. Where the record raises a question, it's flagged by a published rule and sent to the agency for an answer.

94projects tracked

$399.6Min those projects

43with a question

29records still missing

0agency replies

How it works

Four steps for every project

One timeline. Budgets, approvals, contracts, change orders, votes and payments from the site's records are put in order for each project, each with its source.
Promised vs. delivered. The first firm figure is compared with the latest, and the planned finish with the real one.
Flags follow rules. A flag is raised only by one of the published rules below, the same way for every government. A flag is a question, not an accusation.
Agencies get to answer. Flags are sent to the agency, and its reply is posted beside them. Records we're missing become ready-to-send requests.

Projects

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The flag rules

Every flag on this page comes from one of these rules. Each project's flags link back here. If a rule is unfair or applied wrong, tell us.

Cost grew more than 10%

When it's raised: The latest firm figure (final cost, current contract total or current project estimate) is more than 10% above the first firm figure (the award or first budget). Over 25% is marked high.
What it means: The project costs noticeably more than the public was first told. Bay County and Panama City require board approval once change orders pass 10%.
What it doesn't mean: It does not mean money was wasted. Scope added on purpose, design and land costs, and price changes all raise totals. The flag asks the agency to explain the difference.

Running late

When it's raised: A source reports the project finished more than 90 days after its schedule, or a sales tax project is not complete after the last year it was programmed for. Over a year is marked high.
What it means: The public waited longer than planned, which often costs money too.
What it doesn't mean: Delays are often caused by utilities, permits, storms or grant timing outside the agency's control.

Figures don't agree

When it's raised: Two or more public documents give different amounts for the same project and period.
What it means: Residents cannot tell from the public record what the project costs or what was spent.
What it doesn't mean: The documents may count different things (one phase, the CRA share, the whole project). The agency can settle it with one breakdown.

Who was paid isn't public yet

When it's raised: Money was spent or committed, but no record we have names the contractor or seller, or states the price.
What it means: The public cannot check who received the money or for how much.
What it doesn't mean: The information usually exists in the agency's files; it just wasn't in the report we read. A records request will usually get it.

Local share unclear

When it's raised: The project mixes CRA or city money with state or federal grants, and no record says how much is local tax money.
What it means: The totals shown overstate what local taxpayers paid, by an unknown amount.
What it doesn't mean: Grants are good for local taxpayers. The flag is only about knowing the split.

Budgeted, but spending not shown

When it's raised: A budget was set, but actual spending is under half of it for a year that has ended, or no record of actual spending was found.
What it means: The money may be sitting unspent, may have been moved, or the work stalled.
What it doesn't mean: Unspent budgets often roll over to the next year, and a delayed project may still be on track overall.

Approval not found in the minutes

When it's raised: A change order appeared on an agenda, but the meeting minutes we read do not record a vote approving it.
What it means: We could not confirm the board approved the added cost.
What it doesn't mean: It may have been approved on a consent agenda, in minutes we have not read, or by staff within their authority.

More than one incentive, same place

When it's raised: One address or company receives more than one grant or rebate from the same agency.
What it means: The total public support is easy to miss when each award is reported on its own.
What it doesn't mean: Programs usually allow this. The flag adds it up; it does not say it was wrong.

Dropped from the schedule

When it's raised: A project was struck from the sales tax project schedule.
What it means: Money promised to voters for this project went elsewhere or is on hold.
What it doesn't mean: Schedules are amended when costs, grants or priorities change; the replacement project may be listed.

Records still missing

The questions above can usually be answered from records the agency already keeps. Each one opens a Florida public records request, written and ready to send.

Right of reply, and how this was built

Before a project's flags are treated as final, the agency is sent the flags and the records behind them, and asked to correct or explain. Its answer is posted with the project, in full or linked. Each project shows where that stands.
Reviewed project histories were put together by hand from the CRA ledger, city capital schedules, resolutions and news reports. Contract timelines come from the contracts and change orders on the Contracts page, and votes from How They Voted. Sales tax projects come from the county's project schedule and map.
News reports are marked as news. When an event's figure comes from a note on a source record rather than the document itself, it says so.
Dollar totals add each project's latest figure once. Grants are included, so totals are more than local tax money alone.
Download everything as JSON. Corrections: send one.