One year later, Comptroller General encouraged by interest in transparency site

COLUMBIA, SC – March 6, 2009 – One year after it was established, the state’s spending transparency Web site has seen as many as 10,000 visits per month, said Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom.
 
But Eckstrom says he’s continuing to work to raise awareness of the site.
 
In this information age, people should expect nothing less than easy, no-cost access to details about how their hard-earned tax dollars are spent. And government officials have a duty not only to be as transparent as possible, but also to let citizens know how they can access information about how the state spends public money.
 
The Comptroller General’s Office unveiled the state’s first spending transparency Web site on March 4, 2008. The site, which lists spending details for more than 80 state agencies, is linked to the Comptroller General’s Office Web site, www.cg.sc.gov.
 
The idea is that people have a right to where and know how their tax dollars are being used, Eckstrom said. That’s even more important in today’s economy, when tax dollars are becoming more scarce and the demands on them are increased.
 
Eckstrom said he’s encouraged by the strong interest the site has generated. Obviously, journalists use the transparency site to get information, but I’ve been surprised at how many citizens have walked up to me and said they’ve visited it.  Students have even emailed to thank us for making this information available to everyone.
 
Currently, Eckstrom is trying to raise awareness of the site as he embarks on a related initiative — encouraging local governments to put their own spending details online. Of course, we want every citizen to know that with a few clicks of a mouse they can see how much state agencies spend and what they spend on. But we also want local governments to see it and realize that putting spending details on the Internet can be done at very little cost and with very little effort.
 
Eckstrom has been meeting with local governments — cities, counties and school districts — to persuade them to post their check registers on the Internet. He’s offering to host the information on his own Web site, if necessary, to spare them the cost.
 
If they want, it’s as easy as emailing us an Excel file, Eckstrom said. We want it to be as easy for them as possible. We’ve developed a computer template they can use. Using the template, they can easily send us data showing the date, amount and the reason for each expenditure.
 
Eckstrom said he aims to dispel myths about the cost and labor associated with putting details online. It’s not as difficult or costly as some try to portray it, he said. Again, it’s as easy as putting it in an Excel document and emailing it to my office.
 
But my main argument is that it is not government’s money; it’s the people’s money. Letting people see how their tax money is being spent is certainly worth the minimal effort involved.