The Essential Need for Government Transparency

Introduction

The history of government transparency and accountability dates as far back as far as the Enlightenment Period and the passage of freedom of the press laws in Sweden and Finland in 1766 and then in the American colonies in 1789 as part of our Constitution in the Bill of Rights. In 1966 the United States passed the Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) and then the Presidential Records Act of 1978 in response to the Watergate Scandal.

Since about the middle 2000’s requests have been made by public interest and advocacy groups to put federal and state government spending on-line where it could be tracked, analyzed and scrutinized. Recent strides towards greater accountability and transparency accelerated dramatically in response to the Obama administration’s economic stimulus plan(American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). Due to the size and scope of the act there were calls for greater transparency and accountability to track the spending. In response to critics and to build support for the Act the Obama administration promised unprecedented accountability and transparency. So, as part of the Act the government website recovery.gov was created.

Since 2009, government transparency has quickly gained bipartisan support with both Democratic and Republican legislatures championing transparency legislation. According to a recent survey done by the Association of Government Accountants an overwhelming, 90%, of voters say they have a right to transparency in government financial management.

What is government on-line transparency? A checklist City residents should be able to determine through an on-line website:

• The cost of delivering essential services such as police, fire, water, sewer, and trash and snow removal

• Disclosure of all city government meetings and agendas

• Key information about the city’s elected officials and appointed administrators. It should include contact information and terms of service, the date of the next election/appointment

• Comprehensive information about all contracts it enters into with vendors

• Contact information for the person or department that handles open records requests

• Full information about contracts with lobbyists and grants to non-profits

Budgetary information is key

• The current budget both in table form and in pie chart form should be posted on-line

• Prior years budgets should also be posted with easy to understand comparisons showing dollar increases or decreases and their corresponding percentages

• Links to provide more detailed information should be provided

• A brief summary and commentary from the Mayor, the city council and the minority party should also be included

A checkbook summary should be available

The city’s checkbook register should be posted online. This information provided should include:
1. The amount of each payment
2. Date
3. Check number
4. To whom the payment was made (including the address)
5. Scan of Invoice or Purchase Order or Check Request (this often provides significant drilldown detail including who approved it)
6. What it was for
7. Budgetary authority for the expenditure
8. Functional expenditure category
9. Sources of funds
10. Links to the relevant contracts under which the payment was made

What are the costs and benefits of transparency
• Low cost – Spending transparency web sites are inexpensive to create and maintain
• Transparency increases accountability in government and elected officials
• It reduces the number of FOIA(Freedom of Information Act) requests often allowing the public to go right to the source of information requested
• It results in better targeted expenditures and tax incentives and allows officials and citizens to see if the targeted programs are delivering the desired results.
• It encourages proactive thinking and planning from elected officials rather than reactive
activities
• Increased civic engagement, the state of Missouri’s accountability portal received 13 million hits on its website in the first 18 months of its launch.
• Big savings to taxpayers, According to the US Public Interest Research Group, state comptrollers from Texas, Utah, and South Dakota all reported savings in the tens of millions of dollars in the first year of launching their websites after spending less than a million to launch the sites.

Conclusion

The city of Evansville faces a great many challenges and opportunities in the years ahead. The issues of consolidation, law enforcement, fire protection, Roberts Stadium, consolidated sewers, our parks and infrastructure, and swimming pools all have financial implications. The council and the public will need accurate and transparent information and data to guide them in making a good long-term decision. A transparency program with an online checkbook summary along with a summary of the city’s budget would help the public and the council in determining their financial priorities. Further a transparency program would shine a financial light on controversial issues. As the fiscal agent of the City, the Council owes it to itself and the public to implement a comprehensive transparency program.