Giving credit where it is due…
The Independence Institute just sent out this press release thanking Governor Ritter for pledging to make state government more transparent by providing taxpayers with an online, searchable database. All of us at COST also want to thank the Governor for respecting taxpayers and making transparency a priority.
For Immediate Release
January 8, 2009
Contact: Amy Oliver Cooke, Director Colorado Transparency Project, amy@i2i.org or 970-371-3413
Independence Institute Thanks Gov. Bill Ritter for Embracing Transparency in Government
Golden, Colo. — The Independence Institute extends its sincere gratitude to Governor Bill Ritter for promising to bring transparency to the state budget. In his State of the State speech, Ritter pledged, “And we’re making government more and more transparent by putting more services online – and soon, working with Treasurer Kennedy’s office and Representative Marostica, we’ll have the state’s checkbook online.”
With an online, searchable database for all the state’s revenue and expenditures, Colorado would join a number of other states including Kansas, Missouri and Texas, that provide their budget information online and free of charge.
In a speech full of somber news, the promise of transparency is good news for taxpayers. Independence Institute President Jon Caldara expressed his appreciation, saying, “Thank you, Governor Ritter. Transparency shows respect for Colorado taxpayers.”
Caldara added, “With transparent government, the Governor now has potentially millions of allies to help him find efficiencies in government to close the budget gap. This really is great news!”
The Independence Institute has been a leader in the transparency movement. Believing that taxpayers have a right to know how and where their dollars are spent, the free market think tank established the Colorado Transparency Project at the beginning of 2008. Director Amy Oliver Cooke has worked to raise public awareness and to educate citizens, elected officials and government employees about the importance of transparency in all levels of government. Since then Fort Collins pledged to establish an online, searchable database for the city’s revenues, expenditures and contracts; and Greeley and Weld County have posted their checkbooks online.
Cooke acknowledged the hard work of State Representative Don Marostica, who two years ago introduced transparency legislation that was killed in committee. “Despite the defeat in 2007, Representative Marostica deserves credit for not letting the issue of transparency die.”
For additional information about the Colorado Transparency Project visit our blog Colorado Spending Transparency (COST) at http://transparency.i2i.org.
The Independence Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit public policy research organization based in Golden, Colo.
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