Fiscal transparency a key to quality government

By Richard Eckstrom
S.C. Comptroller
March 17, 2014

Each year, the week that includes March 16 is designated as “Sunshine Week.

It’s a time to remind government officials about the laws that govern them…laws that require meetings to be held in the open and public records tobe made available to citizens.  Sunshine Week aims to advance the ideathat government works best when the sun is permitted to shine in.

I use the occasion to promote a kind of “sunlight” that’s particularlyimportant to me — spending transparency. Just as public officials seemto make better decisions when those decisions are made in the open,they’re more accountable with public dollars when they allow any citizen to see how those dollars are being spent.

Several years ago, Ihuddled with a small team of staffers in the Comptroller’s Office tobrainstorm a way to make details of state government spending publiclyavailable on the Internet. The result of our efforts was the state’sfirst Fiscal Transparency Website, which included monthly, itemizedexpenditures for more than 80 state agencies.

At the time, thiswas considered a novel concept. Very few other states had transparencywebsites like ours, and South Carolina was ahead of the curve.

As the fiscal transparency movement took hold nationally, South Carolinaplayed an important role. I received calls from other states asking foradvice, and we were always happy to help. Today, all states havetransparency websites.

I’d like to point out that, unlike moststates, we established South Carolina’s site without requesting orreceiving any additional funds. That’s important because I’m now working to encourage local units of government – towns, cities and counties –to post their spending details on their websites.  And that effortincludes letting local officials know spending transparency can beachieved easily and inexpensively.

When I first launched ourcampaign to urge local governments to bare their books, most localofficials were reluctant. Some worried it would be too costly or toodifficult. To alleviate this concern, I approached the mayor in myhometown of Irmo, SC, where I knew local leaders would be proud topioneer this important initiative.

Irmo’s experience validated my position that posting monthly spending reports online doesn’t have tobe expensive or difficult. And it opened the door for others to followsuit.

Today, 35 towns, cities and counties voluntarily givecitizens easy Internet access to government expenditures. In addition to the benefits of increased accountability, these local governments arecultivating a spirit of trust between citizens and government.

While our local government transparency project has been far more successfulthan I’d imagined, there’s still far to go. Too many governments areunwilling, even in this Information Age, to provide this level of access to citizens. Some probably won’t do so without public pressure – orperhaps even without legislation requiring them to do so.

That’s a shame, because the benefits of online fiscal transparency far outweigh any perceived costs.

Open-meetings and open-records laws are important tools to help ensure the public’sinterests are being served. But Sunshine Week should also include adiscussion about online spending transparency as a key to qualitygovernment.

Fiscal transparency causes those in charge to be more responsible with our tax dollars. It makes it easier to catchmisspending. And it fosters public trust.

In other words, itimproves the quality of government. And the quality of your governmentcan directly influence your quality of life.

 
Richard Eckstrom, a CPA, is the state’s Comptroller. He’s also Commanding General of the State Guard.