Colorado Spending Transparency

COST has been playing around on the Governor new transparency Web site TOP (Transparency Online Project).  We found a lot of interesting things. Below are just a few.

• According to our search of expenditures by department for FY 2009, state government departments spent $32,018, 031,398.93.   That’s substantially more than the $18.7 billion that the state claims it spent.  COST found out that the state counts some expenditures more than once. 
• Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) spent $1983.78 at the Double Eagle Hotel and Casino, $577 at Beaver Run Resort, $968.16 at the Burnsley Hotel, and $748.50 at Wine County Property RLLLP.  Since no context is provided, it is impossible for taxpayers to know what they received for these DOLA “official functions” expenditures, unless they issue DOLA with a CORA request.
• Department of Higher Education spent $3,673,885.12 for honorariums.
• Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) paid $64,174.99 to CBS TV Stations for public relations.  This expenditure probably is part of DORA’s PR campaign featuring Governor Ritter that Denver Post columnist Vince Carroll exposed.

COST can’t make judgments as to whether these expenditures are a good use of taxpayers’ dollars because we have no context nor do we have any idea as to the proposed outcome.  By spending this money, what were taxpayers supposed to receive in return?

Stay tuned there is more…much more.