Transparency Spotlight
Transparency
While the technology makes it relatively simple, very few local governments have yet to achieve the transparency trifecta: posting their budget, financial report and check register online. To date, only 10 counties have all three online. And Tyler is the only city in the state with all three posted.
Cities
- Tyler
Counties
- Burnet
- Collin
- Coryell
- El Paso
- Fort Bend
- Grayson
- Guadalupe
- Harris
- Randall
- Smith
School Districts
Eighty-six of the state’s more than 1,000 school districts have posted their budget, financial report and check register online. Of the remaining school districts, 760 have posted the fiscal 2009 budget and 287 post a check register.
See which districts have put their financial data online at the Comptroller’s Transparency Check-Up Web site which lists Texas local governments, counties and school districts that are setting the standard in their transparency efforts.
Inclined to be Online
Harlingen follows the transparency lead.
Editor’s Note: The following article appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Texas Rising.
Throughout Texas, cities, counties and school districts are opening the windows on local government and allowing taxpayers to go online to see exactly how their money is being spent and where it is going.
Two years ago, Roel Gutierrez, finance director for the city of Harlingen, began by simply scanning copies of the city’s financial reports and posting them on Harlingen’s Web site. Today, residents of Harlingen can access financial reports dating back to 2004, the city’s past two annual budgets, municipal energy costs and detailed information about property tax rates.
“It saves us time and money,” Gutierrez says. He notes that the city must make its financial data available to granting agencies, ratings agencies – such as Standard & Poor’s and Fitch – and the Municipal Advisory Council of Texas. With detailed reports and budgets often running to more than 400 pages, that’s a lot of paper and postage that would have to be paid. It’s much easier to send e-mails and links, Gutierrez notes. And residents who request copies of the city budget also save money, because instead of charging them $50 or more to process an open records request, Harlingen can simply direct inquiring minds to its Web site.
Harlingen also has a Web page that lets residents check to see if the city has any unclaimed property with their names attached to it. At the city level, this is property of less than $100, and Gutierrez says that “as soon as it was put up, there were five or six people who made their claims.”
There are other residents who aren’t so pleased to see their names and dollar figures online, though. Harlingen’s Municipal Court lists the top 10 citizens with outstanding fines and warrants, and while the city got some complaints, Gutierrez says “it worked,” because they were quickly paid up. TR
For more information, visit the Comptroller’s Transparency Check-Up site, which provides which lists Texas local governments that are setting the standard in their transparency efforts.
Read step-by-step tips on how to launch your transparency efforts.