DividenCity Specification

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DividenCity

From Public Assets to Every Citizen’s Wallet

Overview

DividenCity is an open-source specification for a transparent public dividend system that enables cities, towns, counties, states, territories, tribal governments, and the federal government to convert qualifying public revenue into direct citizen dividends.

The specification is designed around the principle that when businesses generate private economic value through the extraction, harvesting, leasing, occupation, utilization, or commercial exploitation of publicly owned assets, the public should be able to receive a defined share of that value.

DividenCity supports three interconnected levels of public dividend programs:

Local dividends operated by cities, towns, counties, and other local governments
State dividends operated by individual states
Federal dividends operated as a national public dividend program

Each level can operate independently while remaining compatible with the others, allowing the model to scale from a single community to a nationwide system.

Objectives

Establish an open standard for public dividend programs.
Create transparent systems for identifying and tracking public revenue.
Return a defined share of qualifying public revenue to verified citizens.
Automatically incorporate qualifying government budget surpluses.
Require public asset utilization agreements to define applicable public benefit contributions.
Provide transparent accounting of revenue collected and dividends distributed.
Support local, state, and federal implementations.
Preserve jurisdictional flexibility while maintaining interoperability.
Provide citizens with understandable information about public assets and dividend funding.
Support independent auditing and public oversight.
Reduce dependence on proprietary systems and vendor-specific implementations.

Core Principles

Public assets should generate measurable public benefit.
Commercial use of public property should be transparent.
Public resource extraction should provide a return to the applicable population.
Revenue contribution rules should be established before commercial activity begins.
Dividend calculations should be reproducible and auditable.
Citizen eligibility should be verified without unnecessary collection of personal information.
Public financial records should be accessible and understandable.
Jurisdictions should retain control over their own policies and programs.
Local programs should be capable of integrating into state systems.
State programs should be capable of integrating into a federal system.
The system should support multiple funding sources without requiring a single revenue model.
Public participation and education should be built into the system.

Three-Level Dividend Model

Local Dividend

The Local Dividend enables cities, towns, counties, and other local jurisdictions to establish dividend programs funded by qualifying local public assets and revenues.

Potential sources include:

Municipal land leases
Public property leases
Local mineral rights
Public facilities
Utility easements
Commercial concessions
Tourism and recreation agreements
Public infrastructure usage
Local resource extraction
Public parking and transportation assets
Commercial development agreements
Local government budget surpluses

Local governments may establish their own contribution rules, eligibility requirements, payment schedules, and distribution formulas within applicable law.

State Dividend

The State Dividend enables individual states to establish statewide public dividend programs.

Potential sources include:

State-owned land
State-owned minerals
Oil and natural gas
Coal
Metals
Gems
Timber
Water resources
Fisheries
Agricultural leases
Renewable energy leases
Public infrastructure
State concessions
State licensing and usage agreements
Commercial leases
Resource royalties
Qualifying state budget surpluses

The State Dividend provides a framework that can be independently implemented by each state while preserving interoperability with other state and federal systems.

Federal Dividend

The Federal Dividend enables a national public dividend program based on qualifying federal assets and revenues.

Potential sources include:

Federal lands
Federal mineral resources
Oil and natural gas
Coal
Metals
Gems
Timber
Water resources
Fisheries
Renewable energy resources
Federal infrastructure
Commercial leases
Federal concessions
Public property usage
Resource royalties
Qualifying federal budget surpluses

The Federal Dividend can aggregate qualifying federal revenue while maintaining separate accounting for revenue originating from different asset classes and jurisdictions.

Core Modules

Public Asset Registry Module

The Public Asset Registry maintains an authoritative inventory of assets owned or controlled by participating public entities.

Features include:

Public land records
Public property records
Mineral rights records
Water rights records
Timber resources
Fisheries
Infrastructure assets
Public facilities
Utility corridors
Easements
Commercial-use locations
Renewable energy sites
Resource extraction locations
Asset ownership records
Jurisdiction ownership
Asset classification
Asset status
Geographic boundaries
Applicable laws and policies
Associated contracts and agreements

The module provides the foundation for determining whether a commercial activity involves a qualifying public asset.

Resource Extraction Module

The Resource Extraction Module tracks commercial extraction and harvesting of resources from public lands and other qualifying public assets.

Supported resource categories include:

Minerals
Metals
Precious metals
Rare earth elements
Gems
Oil
Natural gas
Coal
Sand
Gravel
Limestone
Clay
Phosphate
Salt
Timber
Forestry products
Water
Fisheries
Agricultural products
Geothermal resources
Other publicly owned natural resources

Features include:

Resource identification
Extraction location
Extraction permits
Production volumes
Harvest volumes
Reported value
Royalty calculations
Lease payments
Usage fees
Contribution calculations
Contract compliance
Revenue reconciliation
Historical production records
Public reporting

Public Property Utilization Module

The Public Property Utilization Module extends the system beyond natural resources to any commercial activity that uses public property for private economic benefit.

Supported activities include:

Commercial development
Hotels
Resorts
Retail facilities
Industrial facilities
Warehouses
Data centers
Telecommunications facilities
Cell towers
Fiber infrastructure
Pipelines
Rail facilities
Airports
Ports
Marinas
Energy facilities
Solar installations
Wind installations
Hydroelectric facilities
Recreation facilities
Commercial filming
Events
Tourism operations
Parking facilities
Transportation facilities
Other commercial activities using qualifying public property

Features include:

Property usage registration
Commercial activity classification
Lease tracking
Usage agreement tracking
Concession tracking
Easement tracking
Revenue attribution
Contribution requirements
Contract expiration monitoring
Renewal monitoring
Compliance reporting

Public Asset Contribution Module

The Public Asset Contribution Module establishes and manages the financial contribution associated with commercial use of qualifying public assets.

Features include:

Revenue-based contribution rules
Profit-based contribution rules
Royalty-based contribution rules
Fixed usage fees
Percentage-based fees
Volume-based fees
Tiered contribution schedules
Asset-specific contribution rules
Industry-specific contribution rules
Contract-specific contribution rules
Minimum contribution requirements
Contribution caps where legally applicable
Contribution schedules
Payment deadlines
Contribution reconciliation
Contribution history

The module supports the principle that contribution requirements should be established within the applicable legal and contractual framework before commercial activity occurs.

Government Contract Module

The Government Contract Module integrates public dividend requirements into agreements between governments and commercial entities.

Features include:

Contract registration
Public asset identification
Commercial entity identification
Contribution requirements
Revenue reporting requirements
Resource reporting requirements
Payment schedules
Compliance requirements
Audit provisions
Renewal provisions
Termination provisions
Contribution history
Contract amendments
Public contract summaries

The module provides a standardized framework for incorporating public dividend provisions into qualifying contracts, leases, permits, concessions, licenses, and other agreements.

Industry Registry Module

The Industry Registry identifies commercial entities that operate on, extract from, harvest from, occupy, or otherwise commercially utilize qualifying public assets.

Supported industries include:

Mining
Oil and gas
Energy
Forestry
Agriculture
Fisheries
Water
Construction materials
Manufacturing
Telecommunications
Transportation
Logistics
Tourism
Hospitality
Recreation
Commercial real estate
Infrastructure
Technology
Data services
Entertainment
Media production
Utilities
Renewable energy
Other qualifying commercial activities

Features include:

Business registration
Industry classification
Public asset association
Contract association
Contribution obligations
Reporting requirements
Compliance status
Payment history
Audit history

Government Surplus Module

The Government Surplus Module provides mechanisms for allocating qualifying government budget surpluses to public dividend funds.

Supported levels include:

Municipal
County
State
Federal

Features include:

Revenue reconciliation
Expenditure reconciliation
Reserve requirements
Required obligation handling
Surplus calculation
Eligible surplus identification
Automatic allocation rules
Dividend fund transfers
Fiscal-year processing
Surplus history
Public reporting

Jurisdictions can define legally appropriate reserve, obligation, and allocation rules before a surplus becomes available for dividend distribution.

Dividend Fund Module

The Dividend Fund Module manages funds designated for citizen distributions.

Features include:

Fund creation
Fund classification
Revenue source attribution
Deposits
Transfers
Reserves
Available balance
Restricted balances
Distribution allocations
Fund reconciliation
Fund history
Cross-jurisdiction accounting

The module maintains separate accounting for each revenue source while allowing multiple sources to contribute to a common dividend program.

Citizen Eligibility Module

The Citizen Eligibility Module manages the rules used to determine who qualifies for a particular dividend program.

Features include:

Citizenship verification where required by governing policy
Residency verification
Jurisdiction verification
Residency duration rules
Age rules
Household rules
Minor eligibility
Guardian relationships
Eligibility periods
Enrollment status
Eligibility changes
Duplicate prevention
Death record processing
Residency change processing

Eligibility requirements remain configurable by the implementing jurisdiction and applicable law.

Privacy and Identity Module

The Privacy and Identity Module protects personal information used for eligibility verification and payment administration.

Features include:

Data minimization
Encryption
Identity separation
Access controls
Role-based permissions
Multi-factor authentication
Secure verification
Credential management
Privacy-preserving identifiers
Data retention policies
Data deletion policies where legally permitted
Access logging
Privacy auditing

Public transparency should expose financial and program information without exposing unnecessary personal information about individual recipients.

Dividend Calculation Module

The Dividend Calculation Module determines the amount available for distribution and calculates recipient payments according to jurisdiction-defined rules.

Features include:

Equal per-person distributions
Household distributions
Per-capita calculations
Percentage allocations
Fixed distributions
Variable distributions
Multiple revenue pools
Local supplements
State supplements
Federal supplements
Cost-of-living adjustments
Population adjustments
Payment frequency calculations
Minimum distribution thresholds
Maximum distribution rules where applicable
Rounding rules
Calculation history
Recalculation
Forecast calculations

Every calculation should be reproducible from the underlying financial and eligibility records.

Payment Distribution Module

The Payment Distribution Module manages delivery of approved dividends.

Features include:

Direct deposit
ACH payments
Government payment cards
Digital wallets
Other approved payment methods
Payment scheduling
Batch payments
Payment status
Failed payment handling
Returned payments
Payment reconciliation
Recipient notifications
Payment history
Distribution reporting

Jurisdiction Configuration Module

The Jurisdiction Configuration Module allows each participating government to define its own implementation.

Features include:

Jurisdiction profile
Geographic boundaries
Eligibility policies
Contribution policies
Revenue categories
Dividend formulas
Payment schedules
Reserve requirements
Surplus allocation rules
Reporting requirements
Audit requirements
Privacy policies
Public disclosure policies

Intergovernmental Coordination Module

The Intergovernmental Coordination Module allows local, state, and federal dividend systems to exchange standardized information.

Features include:

Jurisdiction registration
Revenue attribution
Cross-jurisdiction transfers
Shared standards
Data exchange
Population reconciliation
Eligibility coordination
Payment coordination
Duplicate prevention
Intergovernmental reporting
Federal aggregation
State aggregation
Local aggregation

Transparency Module

The Transparency Module provides public visibility into the financial operation of a dividend program.

Features include:

Revenue dashboards
Public asset dashboards
Industry contribution dashboards
Contract summaries
Fund balances
Revenue sources
Contribution totals
Surplus transfers
Dividend totals
Distribution totals
Historical records
Program performance
Public reports
Downloadable datasets
Data provenance

Audit Module

The Audit Module provides tools for internal and independent review.

Features include:

Complete audit trails
Transaction history
Revenue reconciliation
Contract reconciliation
Payment reconciliation
Eligibility audits
Calculation verification
Contribution verification
Exception reporting
Compliance reporting
Historical snapshots
Audit exports
Independent auditor access

Financial Reporting Module

The Financial Reporting Module produces standardized reports for governments, auditors, and the public.

Features include:

Monthly reports
Quarterly reports
Annual reports
Fiscal-year reports
Revenue reports
Contribution reports
Surplus reports
Fund reports
Dividend reports
Payment reports
Contract reports
Industry reports
Audit reports
Forecast reports

Education and Awareness Module

The Education and Awareness Module explains the public dividend system in accessible language.

Features include:

Public asset education
Resource revenue explanations
Government surplus explanations
Dividend calculation explanations
Revenue flow visualizations
Interactive calculators
Dividend forecasting tools
Public finance education
Frequently asked questions
Citizen guides
Glossaries
Program tutorials
Educational reports

Civic Engagement Module

The Civic Engagement Module provides channels for public participation and program feedback.

Features include:

Public feedback
Suggestions
Issue reporting
Data correction requests
Public surveys
Program notifications
Public announcements
Community education
Transparency discussions
Feedback tracking
Response tracking

Notification Module

The Notification Module communicates important program events to administrators, businesses, auditors, and eligible recipients.

Features include:

Payment notifications
Eligibility notifications
Contract notifications
Contribution reminders
Compliance alerts
Audit alerts
Reporting deadlines
Program announcements
Surplus notifications
Dividend announcements

Compliance Module

The Compliance Module monitors obligations associated with public asset agreements and dividend programs.

Features include:

Contribution compliance
Reporting compliance
Contract compliance
Payment compliance
Audit compliance
Filing deadlines
Missing reports
Late payments
Underpayment detection
Exceptions
Corrective actions
Compliance history

Data Provenance Module

The Data Provenance Module records the origin and history of financial, resource, contract, population, and eligibility information.

Features include:

Source identification
Source timestamps
Data lineage
Record versioning
Change history
Source validation
Import history
Reconciliation history
Confidence indicators
Correction history

Forecasting Module

The Forecasting Module provides estimates of future public revenue and potential dividend distributions.

Features include:

Revenue projections
Resource production projections
Contract revenue projections
Surplus projections
Population projections
Dividend projections
Scenario analysis
Sensitivity analysis
Historical comparisons
Revenue volatility analysis

Forecasts are clearly separated from actual financial results.

Optional Plugin Modules

Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Plugin

Provides optional distributed ledger functionality for jurisdictions seeking additional public verification.

Features include:

Public transaction verification
Distributed records
Cryptographic verification
Timestamping
Tamper-evident records
Public ledger interfaces

Blockchain functionality remains optional and does not determine whether a jurisdiction can implement DividenCity.

Advanced Fraud Detection Plugin

Provides additional analytical tools for identifying potentially fraudulent activity.

Features include:

Duplicate payment detection
Suspicious transaction detection
Identity anomaly detection
Contribution anomaly detection
Payment anomaly detection
Pattern analysis
Investigation workflows

Advanced Revenue Analytics Plugin

Provides expanded financial analysis.

Features include:

Revenue trend analysis
Industry comparisons
Resource market analysis
Contribution forecasting
Revenue concentration analysis
Scenario modeling
Dividend sensitivity analysis

Geographic Intelligence Plugin

Provides geographic analysis of public assets and commercial activity.

Features include:

Interactive maps
Asset mapping
Resource mapping
Contract mapping
Commercial activity mapping
Jurisdiction boundaries
Revenue geographic analysis
Local impact analysis

Cost of Living Plugin

Provides jurisdiction-specific cost-of-living calculations.

Features include:

Regional cost indexes
Housing costs
Transportation costs
Food costs
Utility costs
Geographic adjustments
Dividend adjustment scenarios

Payment Provider Plugin

Allows jurisdictions to connect approved payment providers without changing the core dividend system.

Features include:

Payment provider adapters
Bank integrations
ACH providers
Payment cards
Digital wallets
Payment reconciliation
Provider failover

Government Data Connector Plugin

Connects DividenCity to approved government data systems.

Features include:

Revenue systems
Treasury systems
Property records
Land records
Resource records
Contract systems
Population systems
Residency systems
Public reporting systems

Tax Integration Plugin

Provides optional integration with applicable tax administration systems.

Features include:

Tax reporting
Revenue reconciliation
Eligibility verification
Payment reporting
Tax document generation
Tax-related dividend information

Public API Plugin

Provides expanded access for external civic applications.

Features include:

Public APIs
Developer access
Revenue data
Dividend data
Public asset data
Contract data
Reporting data
Documentation
Access controls
Rate controls

Mobile Citizen Portal Plugin

Provides optional mobile access for citizens.

Features include:

Eligibility status
Dividend status
Payment history
Educational content
Public revenue information
Notifications
Feedback
Secure account access

Independent Audit Portal Plugin

Provides specialized access for authorized independent auditors.

Features include:

Audit workspaces
Evidence management
Financial reconciliation
Calculation verification
Exception management
Audit reports
Controlled data access

Public Participation Plugin

Provides additional civic participation capabilities.

Features include:

Public proposals
Community voting where legally authorized
Public surveys
Budget education
Revenue allocation simulations
Public comment
Community reporting

Revenue Allocation Framework

DividenCity supports multiple revenue allocation models.

A jurisdiction may define:

Percentage of royalties
Percentage of qualifying revenue
Percentage of qualifying profits
Fixed public asset fees
Volume-based fees
Tiered contribution rates
Contract-specific contributions
Resource-specific contributions
Industry-specific contributions
Budget surplus allocations
Combination funding models

The platform records the rule used for each contribution so citizens and auditors can understand how the dividend fund was financed.

Public Asset Contract Standard

A qualifying commercial agreement may contain standardized fields for:

Public asset identification
Government owner
Commercial entity
Activity type
Resource type
Geographic location
Contract period
Revenue reporting requirements
Contribution requirements
Payment schedule
Audit requirements
Public disclosure requirements
Compliance requirements
Renewal conditions
Termination conditions

Dividend Distribution Models

Supported models include:

Equal citizen dividend
Per-capita dividend
Household dividend
Adult and minor dividend
Local supplement
State supplement
Federal supplement
Revenue-source-specific dividend
Combined revenue dividend
Recurring dividend
Special distribution
Emergency distribution

Specification Branding License (SBL)

Standard

Fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant system
Copyleft enforced for network deployments
Required attribution:
- Roxanne Ardary
- https://www.roxanneardary.com/

Optional

Specification Branding License (SBL)
- Attribution-free commercial deployment
- Pricing based on scale, usage, and deployment scope
- https://roxanneardary.com/dividencity/

License & Notice Requirements

DividenCity is released under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).

By contributing to this project, you agree that your contributions will also be released under this license.

Please note the following:

All contributions must comply with the AGPL-3.0+ terms.
Under Section 7 of the license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works must preserve attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.
DividenCity specifications are free to use with attribution. A Specification Branding License can be negotiated upon request.
The project’s notice.md file tracks attribution requirements and contributor acknowledgments. Any update that adds new contributors or modifies attribution should also update notice.md.
When submitting a pull request, ensure that any new files maintain the attribution headers where applicable.
Network-deployed versions of this software must also remain fully AGPL-3.0+ compliant, including exposure of source code modifications when applicable under the license.

For full legal details, please refer to the AGPL-3.0+ license and the project’s notice.md file.

Notice – DividenCity

Attribution Requirement: Under Section 7 of the AGPL 3.0+ license, all redistributions, forks, and derivative works, including network-deployed versions of this project, must provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com.

Contributors

This file tracks contributors and their specific contributions to the project.

Roxanne Ardary, roxanneardary.com – March 26, 2026
Created the repository for DividenCity. Built the initial open-source platform that implements a resource-backed Universal Basic Income (UBI) system distributing revenue from public assets directly to verified citizens as dividends.
[Add other contributors here] – [Date]
[Describe contribution in one sentence]

License – DividenCity

This repository is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0+).

Key Points

You are free to use, modify, and distribute the code.
All redistributions, forks, and derivative works or network-deployed versions must also be licensed under AGPL-3.0+ and provide attribution to Roxanne Ardary and roxanneardary.com as required under Section 7 of the license.
The software is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind.

For the full license text, see GNU AGPL-3.0 License.