What happens when government is allowed to operate outside the purview of the public? “Corruption on steroids,” as District Attorney Steve Cooley described the abuse of taxpayers in Bell, CA.  Cooley further described the situation in a news conference announcing the arrest of eight elected officials and government employees from the small town outside of Los [...]

During the last two plus years as transparency in government has made headlines, the Denver Post consistently has been on the front lines fighting for access to public records and criticizing those who deny the public’s right to know.
The Post continues the battle on Sunday’s editorial page with two columns encouraging citizens to demand transparency. The first [...]

Become a Citizen Auditor and win $2500! Mothers Against Debt, the Independence Institute, Liberty on the Rocks and Americans for Prosperity are sponsoring Citizen Auditor training throughout Colorado.
Become a citizen auditor and win cash!
The Independence Institute will conduct classes to teach concerned citizens how to use the state’s Transparency Online Project (TOP) web site, our [...]

If you don’t think local activists asking a few a questions can make a difference, then visit a new watch-dog Web site that is keeping an eye on the Lewis-Palmer School District in Monument. Lewis-Palmer Direction 38 explains its mission:
This site aims to provide another source of information for the public to access.  As citizens of [...]

The state cannot pay its bills and taxpayers get blamed. And no one asks where did the more than $18 billion in taxpayer dollars go.
The Denver Post reports:
Temporarily short on money, Colorado has declared a fiscal emergency and delayed payments to doctors and clinics taking care of the state’s neediest patients.
The usual suspects are providing [...]

Taxpayers in Greeley will be happy to know that the city has placed online a wealth of information. On the city’s new transparency page visitors will find everything from the employee pay schedule to financial reports including the check registry.   The city even included a link with information on where to direct an open records request.
COST thanks [...]

My friend and colleague Ben DeGrow, blogger extraordinaire at Mount Virtus, asked his city council candidates about their stance on transparency at the local level.  According to Ben, two agreed to allow their answers to be posted on his blog and those two candidates seem very supportive of opening the books to taxpayers.   After reviewing [...]

There is no guarantee that voters will reward a transparent government by approving a tax increase.  But it sure is easier for any government to make its case for more money when it has shown taxpayers the respect they deserve by providing detailed financial transparency.  With detailed, online financial transparency, government demonstrates that it wants to be a [...]

Greeley Tribune publisher Bart Smith criticized taxpayers who demand more transparency in the face of 3A, a massive property tax increase for Greeley Evans School District 6.  In an opinion editorial urging a yes vote, Smith reveals his own naive understanding of transparency in Colorado. 
Others who say they want more transparency show their lack of knowledge of how [...]

Jefferson County Administrator Jim Moore is a bureaucrat on a seemingly impossible mission.  He wants to re-establish trust between Jefferson County residents and their government. How? By being as open and transparent as possible.  According to a blog post from Moore:
Complete and accurate information is the best antidote to the spin and sometimes deliberate misinformation that has [...]