Mayoral transition blog provides ample city data

As Thomas Menino’s tenure as Boston’s longest-serving mayor winds down, mayoral aides and other city officials have been busy providing information and analysis that could prove helpful to Mayor-elect Martin Walsh.

In the past, such materials would have been delivered to the incoming mayor in binders, consisting of information that might already be out of date, according to John Guilfoil, the mayor’s deputy press secretary. Menino, however, was strongly in favor of introducing the blog.

The blog (next.cityofboston.gov) is titled “NextBoston: Notes on a Smooth Mayoral Transition.” It is, of course, available to the public as well as the next administration, providing a wealth of data about the city and its residents.

The first posting, in late September, presents the mission of the project. “Over the next 100 days,” it states, “we’ll work hard to provide daily content made up of the insight and information that will help the next mayor of Boston and his staff transition more seamlessly into a new administration on Jan. 6.”

Another post, just before Thanksgiving, discussed the Boston Main Streets program that Menino introduced in 1995 as a means of encouraging shoppers to patronize local merchants. A few days later, the blog highlighted the “Main and Me” program, which helps smartphone users locate nearby independent shops and stores.

A Dec. 12 posting was devoted to pensions and “other post-employment benefits,” primarily health insurance. The post points out that while a majority of Boston’s pension liability is funded, the city’s OPEB liability is almost entirely unfunded.

Many of the postings, such as one drawn from the city’s Office of Civil Rights, feature detailed visual information. Color-coded images plot the prevalence of ethnic groups throughout the city. A separate post shows a map of capital projects scheduled through fiscal 2018.

Guilfoil and his colleagues in the mayor’s office who write and edit the blog have access to ample information from Boston About Results, a website that includes data on 17 city departments and functions, including inspectional services, neighborhood development, police, public works and transportation.

“It’s transitional in nature,” Guilfoil said of the blog. “It’s forward looking. It’s looking at what will be happening in the new administration.”