Colorado Spending Transparency

Governor Bill Ritter cuts funding for Higher Education and eliminates tax credits for seniors to balance Colorado’s budget.  Yet according to the Associated Press, Ritter spends millions lobbying governmentfor programs taxpayers can’t afford.  COST’s own Amy Oliver Cooke and champion of taxpayers Rep Kent Lambert are quoted in the article. 

If taxpayers want to investigate further on the Governor’s transparency Web site TOP, don’t waste your time.  Lobbying expenditures aren’t available – even in the aggregate.

According to Governor Bill Ritter’s own transparency Web site TOP, the state paid $283,129.15 to Beaver Run Resort over the last two fiscal years (FY08-09 and FY09-10).   Several state government departments including Education, Governor’s office, Higher Ed, Human Services, Judicial, Corrections, Public Safety, Health Care Policy and Financing, and Local Affairs, spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for official functions, customer workshops, in-state travel, food, equipment rental and more.

COST reminds its readers that we are not here to judge the expenditures, but we would like to know how Colorado taxpayers benefited.  What was the intended performance outcome of these expenditures?

Some context certainly would be helpful especially considering the Governor’s latest round of “budget cuts” which includes $145 million for Higher Education and more furlough days for state employees.

According to a recent article in the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Colorado State University “workers with university-issued purchasing cards spent more than $60,000 on everything from pizzas, coffee and bottled water to steak, seafood and sushi — all in a single month.”

Some of the expenditures were well justified by CSU employees.  For example:

CSU Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk took a slew of current and potential donors out to lunch at Bahama Breeze in Las Vegas, spending $322.28 on everything from sodas and shrimp salads to grilled tilapia, crispy chicken and salmon tostada. Unlike most spending justifications, Kowalczyk provided a detailed listing of with whom he had lunch and why…Among the guests were longtime donors who own real estate and casino interests. The justification notes how much each guest has given to CSU over the years, and how much “capacity” they have to give more.

Others were not. 

A recently released internal audit of top-level administrators’ offices at CSU noted the literal rubber-stamping of some spending authorizations and numerous purchasing card violations in the Division of Advancement and Strategic Initiatives. That audit found no evidence of misspending, but a lack of appropriate oversight.

Higher education desperately needs more transparency.