August 25, 2008
The Time is Right for Government Transparency
by W. David Patton, PhD,CPPA Director
Transparency in government seems to be an idea that is
catching on around the country. During
the past legislative session, Utah enacted SB 38 that emphasizes transparency
in government finances. Other states
have passed similar legislation that allows citizens to see how tax dollars are
being spent by government. With the
availability of the Internet, government agencies are now able to easily
disseminate their financial information to anyone who might be interested. Transparency is an effective tool in holding
elected and appointed public officials accountable for the public funds
entrusted to them. In several states,
including Utah, the opportunity for more transparent government could be extended
beyond financial disclosure to include reports on other key performance
measures so citizens can see how effective public agencies are – not just how
they spend their money.
Transparency legislation or executive orders have taken a
variety of forms, but usually they involve how the government spends tax
dollars including government contracts and day-to-day expenditures. Missouri Governor Blunt’s executive order
requires that every transaction involving state money be displayed on its web
site. The site received 7.5 million
hits the first year. Oklahoma places
all investment tax credits and economic development incentives on its
transparency web site. Once the
information was placed on its own web site, Texas found that it had five
separate contracts for toner and saved $73,000 by consolidating these
contracts. In all, Texas has saved $2.3
million by examining its own financial information from its transparency web
site.[1]
Utah’s SB 38, sponsored by Senator Niederhauser and
Representative Dougall, creates the Utah Public Finance Website for the purpose
of providing public financial information and the Utah Transparency Advisory
Board to advise on website administration and make recommendations for
information to be included on the website.
The website will allow citizens access to financial reports, financial
audits, budgets, contracts, and other financial documents. Utah’s transparency website could include
the name of the agency making an expenditure, as well as the date, amount and
purpose of the expenditure, the name of the person or company receiving funds,
and a copy of the contract.[2]
Financial transparency can be an effective way to allow
citizens to see how public funds are being spent, but can only go so far in explaining
the effectiveness or efficiency of public programs or the ethical conduct of
public officials. Transparency is a
fundamental concept in government accountability and democracy and should be
extended to how well agencies are performing and how well officials are
representing their constituency. Much
like how company officials would report to its board of directors, the
legislative and executive branches could use transparency websites to report on
critical performance measures in their respective agencies and disclose
information on ethical standards such as political contributions, conflicts of
interest, and gifts received. A
meaningful transparency report would include information in understandable
language and graphic displays and include key indicators of financial
performance but also measures of service improvement, efficient use of tax
dollars, and areas that need more attention.
With the Internet, and possibly for the first time in history, we have
the means to provide the general public with meaningful information about how well
the government utilizes public funds and how effective public programs are in
providing public services.
[1] Dickson,
David M., Financial transparency sweeps across nation; States shed new light on
records. The Washington Times, August
11, 2008.
[2] SB 38
Enrolled, 2008 General Session, State of Utah.
|