Budgeting, Accounting and Reporting System (BARS)
The Washington State Auditor's Office (SAO) designed and manages the chart of accounts for local governments within Washington State. It is called the Budgeting, Accounting and Reporting System (BARS). For over 20 years, the Washington State Department of Health has used the BARS coding system to collect detailed public health revenue and expenditure data from local health jurisdictions (LHJs) and publish this information. These data provide more detailed information than the data collected by SAO about expenditures – the types of public health services provided (e.g., Maternal/Child Health, Tuberculosis, Food Safety, Assessment), and what types of revenue (federal, state, local, fees, etc.) were used to fund each of the LHJs. These pages contain information pertaining to public health BARS data collection and use, including training and instructions for reporting the data, reports and subsequent analyses of the data.
BARS Manuals – Office of the Washington State Auditor
BARS Supplemental Manual (through 2019) (PDF)
BARS Supplemental Manual (2020 onward) (PDF)
BARS Expenditure Codes – Q&A (PDF)
2020 New BARS Expenditure Codes (PDF)
Local Health Jurisdiction (LHJ) Funding Reports
(Expenditure reports for each LHJ and local public health in the aggregate)
- 2021 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report (PDF)
- 2020 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report (PDF)
- 2019 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report (PDF)
- 2018 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report
- 2017 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report
- 2016 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report
- 2015 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report
- 2014 Local Health Jurisdiction Funding Report
BARS Analysis
- Per Capita Expenditures 2015 (PDF)
- Flexible State General Funds to LHJs: How They Were Spent, 2015 (PDF)
- Flexible State General Funds to LHJs: How They Were Spent Over Time, 2007-2015 (PDF)
- Per Capita Revenue 2014 (PDF)
- Washington State Local Public Health Financing 1993-2011: A Descriptive Visual Analysis (PDF)