Comptroller applauds Richland County for joining financial transparency initiative
February 24, 2010
COLUMBIA, SC – February 24, 2010 – Richland County has become the 18th local government in South Carolina to begin putting its check register online under a transparency initiative spearheaded by state Comptroller Richard Eckstrom.
The county’s easy-to-understand weekly check register is available at http://www.richlandonline.com/departments/Finance/CheckRegister.asp.
When government spends people’s money, it’s just common courtesy to show them how it’s spending it, said Eckstrom. By giving them easy, click-of-a-mouse access to details about how public funds are being used, Richland County is showing respect for the hard-working taxpayers that provide the County its financial support. They are to be commended. Other governments in the Midlands and across the state would do well to follow their lead.
Last February, Eckstrom, working with the non-profit research organization S.C. Policy Council, began a campaign to encourage local governments – cities, counties and school districts – to post details about individual expenditures on the Web. He has offered to host the information on his office’s site for small municipalities that lack Web sites.
Other Midlands governments that have begun posting their check registers online include the city of Cayce and the town of Irmo. The city of Columbia has committed to do so in the near future.
Financial transparency isn’t a Republican or Democratic issue, it’s a good government issue. When spending is done in full public view, those doing the spending are more accountable, Eckstrom said. And increasing transparency is an important step toward restoring the trust that many have lost in government.
Richland County state Rep. Nathan Ballentine echoed those sentiments. I’m excited to see Richland County follow the town of Irmo’s lead from several months ago by opening the county’s checkbook to the public. The county understands the dollars being spent every day come from the pockets of our residents and those residents deserve to see where their hard-earned tax dollars are going.
For a list of local governments that have begun posting their check registers on the Web, go to: http://www.cg.sc.gov/transparency/.
