Eckstrom: Thirty-five local governments now post individual spending details the Web
May 14, 2010
COLUMBIA, SC – May 14, 2010 – Thirty-five local governments in SouthCarolina now post details about their individual expenditures on theInternet, state Comptroller Richard Eckstrom announced Thursday.
Eckstrom, who in early 2009 launched a campaign to encourage cities,towns, counties and school districts to post their check registers onthe Internet, said dozens of them have begun making their individualexpenditures available to taxpayers via the Internet – ranging in sizefrom the small town of Turbeville to the city of Columbia and GreenvilleCounty.
In addition, the state General Assembly required school districts topost their check registers and charge card spending online, and tappedEckstrom to work with the districts on the transparency measure.
The local governments who have voluntarily put their spending detailsonline are showing respect for the taxpayers by giving themclick-of-a-mouse access to details about how our hard-earned dollars arespent, said Eckstrom. In addition, spending transparency instillsaccountability, as public officials are more responsible with taxpayermoney when they know their spending decisions will face public scrutiny.
This transparency initiative has been much more successful than I evercould have anticipated.
Eckstrom unveiled the state’s first transparency website in 2008 andencouraging local governments to show their spending seemed like alogical next step, he said.
The fact that so many governments have done this voluntarily shows thatit can be done easily and without much cost, Eckstrom said. Theminimal cost and effort involved are certainly well-worth it, asspending transparency is an important key to good government.
A list of local governments posting their individual expenditures on theWeb can be found here: http://cg.sc.gov/transparency
Eckstrom said he has worked out an arrangement with Anderson County,which has been recognized for its transparency efforts, for the countyto offer guidance to any local governments that want to post theirspending information online.
Spending transparency is important under normal circumstances, but evenmore so during times like these, said Eckstrom. Letting peoplemonitor how public funds are spent instills accountability, andtherefore helps to improve the quality of government.
