How to Use the City of Torrance OpenGov Transparency Portal
OpenGov is a free website where you can explore how the City of Torrance budgets and spends public money. You can look at budget plans, actual spending, revenue, and performance measures — all in one place.
Information is organized into Reports, and each report can have multiple Views. Views are like bookmarks that show you a specific slice of the data, such as spending for one department or fund.
How the City organizes its finances
The City tracks money using four levels, from broadest to most specific:
- Fund — A major category, like the General Fund or Water Fund.
- Department — A City department, like Police, Fire, or Finance.
- Division — A unit within a department.
- Program — A specific activity or service within a division.
Within each level, individual revenue and expense accounts are grouped into broader classifications.
What reports are available
Right now, you can view two reports on the portal:
- Annual Actuals — Shows what the City actually earned and spent each year.
- Annual Budget — Shows the City's planned spending for each year.
During the budget review period, a third report may be added that combines actual spending with proposed budget numbers.
Finding your way around the portal
Here is a walk-through of the main features you will see on screen.
1. Views and Filters (left side of the screen)
Views are pre-built shortcuts on the left side of the page. Click any View to jump to a specific set of data, such as General Fund revenues and expenses, or spending for a single department.
Filters let you build your own custom view. Click the "Filters" tab and pick any combination of Funds, Departments, Divisions, Programs, Account Types, or Projects. The charts and tables will update automatically.
2. Report name, Back, and Reset (top left)
The name of the report you are viewing appears at the top left. Below it you will find two buttons:
- Back — Returns you to the previous view or filter you were looking at.
- Reset — Returns the report to its original default view.
3. Charts
Chart types (top right of the chart area)
You can change how the data is displayed by choosing a chart type:
- Stacked percentage — Shows how each category's share changes over time.
- Stacked line — Shows overall totals and how they trend over time.
- Line overlay — Plots each category as its own line so you can compare trends.
- Pie chart — Shows the percentage breakdown for a single year.
- Bar chart — Compares amounts and percentages across years.
Reading the charts
- Solid-colored bars or areas represent actual revenues or expenditures.
- Lines or patterned fills represent budgeted amounts.
- You can click directly on a bar, line, or section of the chart to drill down into more detail.
4. Data table (below the chart)
Scroll down below any chart to see a table with the exact dollar amounts behind the visualization.
5. Legend and drill-down (right side of the chart)
The legend on the right side of the chart lists the categories being displayed. Click any category in the legend to filter the data and drill down further. You can keep clicking to go deeper, all the way to individual account-level detail.
6. Changing the breakdown
Use the "Broken Down By" menu on the left side to change how the data is grouped — for example, switching from a breakdown by Fund to a breakdown by Department or Expense Type.
7. Sorting the data
Use the sort menu to reorder the data:
- A to Z — Alphabetical order.
- Chart of Accounts — By the City's official account numbering system.
- Large to Small — Highest dollar amounts first.
- Small to Large — Lowest dollar amounts first.
8. Help menu (top right corner)
Click "Help" in the top right corner to find:
- A short how-to guide with navigation tips.
- A welcome screen overview.
- A "Budget 101" briefing that explains the basics of how cities manage multiple funds.
- A way to contact the Finance team if you have questions.