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 the city of Greeley for respecting taxpayers. Greeley Evans School District 6?
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 Open Book Fort Collins, Candidate Shelly Cook had this to say about transparency :
If I am elected, I will absolutely take this forward, advocate energetically for it, arrange field trips or guest speakers, if need be, to introduce folks to the thinking about and results of theses programs elsewhere.
What COST finds encouraging is that voters are holding candidates and elected officials accountable for transparency. Taxpayers want to know how their money is spent.
No taxation without information!
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 good steward of precious taxpayer resources.
In a few short weeks, Greeley Evans School District 6 will find out if it will have to pay a political price for resisting transparency and having a one of its board members Bob Stack, along with the rest of the education lobby, testify against the Public School Financial Transparency Act. The Greeley school district is hoping for a massive property tax increase, ballot measure 3A. Suddenly, the school district is bragging about its latest efforts at transparency.
In a recent press release, District 6 claims it “is providing more online access to its budget and financial documents and posting easy-to-understand explanations of district funding and how that money is used to educate students.” While the Greeley school district brags about its latest feature, Money Matters, it’s clear the district either doesn’t know what transparency means or it doesn’t want to provide detailed information.
The information provided on Money Matters is aggregated and without context. For instance, taxpayers can find out that the school district spent $20,363 on “advertising”, $24,134 on “miscellaneous”, and $18,620 on “other objects,” but they have no idea how those expenditures helped “educate students.”
Let’s be honest, the District 6 school board and administration are more examples of how taxpayers have to drag government kicking and screaming into transparency. The only reason they have put anything online is because they want a massive tax increase and “people are talking.” The only thing transparent about District 6 is its reason for suddenly embracing transparency.
District 6 voters can’t expect any help from the local newspaper the Greeley Tribune. In one of a series of op-eds supporting 3A, the newspaper blamed taxpayers, “Residents worried about accountability need to take responsibility. Volunteer for the advisory board. Attend school board meetings. Ask for budget information. Talk with teachers to see if they are getting what they were promised.”
In other words, if taxpayers want to know how their money is spent, then they will have to take time out of their day to find out. The school district can’t be bothered with transparency. It’s too busy spending your money!
What remains to be seen is if voters will see the district’s desire for more money as a teachable moment with the lesson being: No taxation without information.
People interested in helping teach government a lesson can join the Facebook group Citizens Against School Bullies.
Voters interested in finding out more information about the pro 3A side can visit Citizens 4 Strong Schools.
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 a public institution operates. School financing is an open book. Anyone who chooses can dive into the records and see how every cent is spent.
Our own Amy Oliver sent a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request to District 6 two weeks ago. She still has not received all the information. (Although we hear the District promises to have it to her by the end of business today) So much for seeing how every cent is spent.
Perhaps Smith failed to notice that the Colorado Press Association supported SB09-57 the School District Financial Transparency Act, which would have required Colorado school districts to provide detailed financial information online in a searchable format.
He also probably failed to notice that both the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post supported the legislation.
The curious position of the Greeley Tribune does lead us to wonder why a newspaper would not support calls for more transparency. It’s obvious the Northern Colorado newspaper does not subscribe to our motto: No taxation without information! Odd.
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 become far too commonplace in our world today. The most powerful force in a representative democracy is a well-informed and engaged citizenry. That’s what Transparent Jeffco is all about.
Jefferson County’s recently launched transparency initiative Transparent Jeffco is about “open government” and changing the way Jeffco residents “interact” with “county government.” This summer the county put online, in a searchable format all 600 plus procurement cards. Want to know how much the county spent at Bed, Bath and Beyond? It’s there as well as a description of the purchase or credit. Contracts and check registry are coming soon.
Moore believes that transparency is more than just financial. Jeffco residents and Web site visitors are encouraged to provide feedback. Contact information is everywhere. The Jeffco Blog is available for comments. And now the county offers video streaming with an integrated agenda for commissioners’ meetings.
Colorado Transparency Project Director Amy Oliver Cooke interviewed Moore for a podcast on iVoices.org. Moore reveals the specifics about how he and his staff, including Public Information Director Kathryn Heider, reached out to residents and employees about what they would like see; how they got two departments to coordinate efforts; how they overcame the fear of transparency; biggest obstacles and his goals for the future.
Transparency can be achieved when it’s a priority. Jeffco proves it.
Up next for Moore and his staff? Priority based budgeting. COST wishes every county in Colorado had a Jim Moore.
Transparent Jeffco quick facts: developed in-house; cost $3400; launched summer 2009; updated every two weeks or as bank statements come into the county; still waiting to track unique visitors; feedback ability; contracts and checkbook coming soon.
Governor Bill Ritter and Treasurer Cary Kennedy quietly launched the Transparency Online Project(TOPS). COST doesn’t believe that TOPS is what State Rep BJ Nikkel and transparency activists envisioned with HB 1288 the Colorado Taxpayer Transparency Act. According to a press release from the Governor’s office:
TOP sets a new standard for accountability, responsibility and transparency in state government, Gov. Ritter said. Taxpayers now have a convenient and modern tool to see exactly where their money is going and how it’s being spent.
If TOPS is the “new standard” then Ritter and Kennedy set the bar fairly low. Problem is taxpayers can’t see ”exactly where their money is going” because the Web site doesn’t provide details. Under “Expenditure Type Search” visitors find that the “drill down path” provides a summary for each agency, department and fund. In some cases a name is attached to aggregated spending, particularly in the case of travel expenses, but no context is provided.
No wonder the Governor fought so hard against transparency, he doesn’t really seem to understand it. To help the Governor, COST has taken the liberty of providing a few examples on the local and state level: Transparent Jeffco, Open Book Fort Collins, Missouri Accountability Portal (MAP) and KanView. It can be done!
COST believes now is a good time to remind taxpayers of our motto: No taxation without information!
Boulder city government has an expanding waistline. The Daily Camera reports that “Boulder taxpayers shelled out more than $230,100 for government food last year, representing a 13 percent increase over 2007 and 19 percent over 2006 food expenses.”
The paper offered further explanation:
The costs are for a wide range of snacks and meals for employees, officials and volunteers, including: $64,700 for boards and commissions; $50,800 for promotions, retirement parties and employee recognition; $25,200 for training; $21,400 for coffee and bottled water; $18,500 for public meetings and community forums; and $4,600 for traveling employees.
But apparently the Boulder Planning Board is looking out for taxpayers’ money.
Susan Honse, clerk to the Planning Board, said that group has taken the charge to reduce its food costs seriously. While the board used to go out to restaurants before meetings, she said, it has decided in the past year to order mostly take-out and forego special beverages.
“They get ice water,” Honse said. “They love their water.”
COST commends members of the planning board for willingly sacrificing “special beverages” in order to save money. Hopefully it will be enough to save the libraries.
This situation reminds us of something that transparency activist Natalie Menten says, ”it becomes very easy to spend someone else’s money, unless that someone is watching.”
Boulder needs transparency.
COST wants to thank Jefferson County for being “one of only a handful of Colorado government entities to post line-item expense account charges, contracts and the county’s checkbook. All the information is in a searchable database available to anyone with access to the Web,” according to Charley Able from the Lakewood Edge.
Jeffco’s Transparency Initiative sets the standard for government transparency in Colorado. Procurement cards can be searched by date, vendor, category, description, cardholder, authorizer, and amount. Want to know how much the Sheriff’s Office spends on hay for horses? Look it up! It’s available; as is the amount that Commissioner Faye Griffin spent on airfare to a national conference. COST is not making a judgement about these expenditures. We are just thrilled that they are available for all taxpayers to see. It’s simply good government.
Able quotes County Administrator Jim Moore who echoes something that COST and transparency advocates have been saying for more than a year, transparency in government promotes efficiency: “ People are going to see things we don’t see, people who have a different perspective and people who are critical of how we do things. That’s going to lead to improvements and better cheaper, faster ways of doing things.”
It’s refreshing to see stewards of taxpayer dollars embracing transparency rather than being defensive about how they are spending our money. The next time a local government tells COST that transparency is too expensive, we’ll point to Jeffco.
Greeley Evans District Six, the largest Colorado school district ever to be placed on accreditation watch, wants more money. According to the Greeley Tribune the district is asking for a mill levy override to fund $32 million in various projects.
With a bad economy, a mill levy override is going to be a tough sell. But also working against the district is its lack of transparency. District Six school board member Robert Stack was part of the education lobby that testified against SB 57 the Public School Financial Transparency Act, which was defeated in the House Education Committee. He did say in testimony that he represented himself and not the entire school board. However, the Colorado Association of School Boards, which lobbies at the state capitol on behalf of Colorado school boards, actively worked to kill SB 57.
COST’s suggestion to District Six: show respect for stakeholders and taxpayers. Show them how you are spending their money before asking for more.
Remember No Taxation without Information!
The Public School Spending Transparency Act will be heard in House Education Committee on Thursday, March 19 at 1:30 p.m. A list of membership and contact information is below. Transparency advocates are meeting in the basement of the Capitol at 1 p.m.
SB 87, which would provide additional accountability for Special Districts, passed out of the Senate 35-0. It’s been assigned to the Local Government Committee in the House, which meets Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. and Thursdays upon adjournment. A list of committee members and their contact information is below.
The Colorado Taxpayer Transparency Act passed out of Finance and is on its way to Appropriations. It has not been scheduled yet. When it is, COST will let you know. A list of Appropriations Committee members is below.
If you have an opinion on any of these transparency measures, feel free to contact them.
Randy Baumgardner - 303-866-2949
Debbie Benefield - 303-866-2950
Tom Massey - 303-866-2747
Mike Merrifield, Chair - 303-866-2932
Karen Middleton - 303-866-3911
Carole Murray - 303-866-2948
Cherylin Peniston - 303-866-2843
Kevin Priola - 303-866-2912
Christine Scanlan - 303-866-2952
Sue Schafer - 303-866-5522
Judy Solano, Vice Chair, - 303-866-2918
Ken Summers - 303-866-2927
Nancy Todd - 303-866-2919
randy.baumgardner.house@state.co.us
debbie@debbiebenefield.org
tom.massey.house@state.co.us
michael.merrifield.house@state.co.us
karen@karenmiddleton.com
murrayhouse45@gmail.com
cherylin.peniston.house@state.co.us
kpriola@gmail.com
christine.scanlan.house@state.co.us
sue.schafer.house@state.co.us
judy.solano.house@state.co.us
ken.summers.house@state.co.us
nancy.todd.house@state.co.us
Cherylin Peniston, Chair – 303-866-2843
John Soper, Vice Chair – 303-866-2931
Cynthia Acree – 303-748-9534
Laura Bradford – 303-866-2583
Larry Liston – 303-866-2965
Wes McKinley – 303-866-2398
Karen Middleton – 303-866-3911
Sue Schafer – 303-866-5522
Scott Tipton – 303-866-2955
Ed Vigil – 303-866-2916
Mark Waller - 303-866-5525
cherylin.peniston.house@state.co.us
john.soper.house@state.co.us
cindyacree@comcast.net
laura.bradford.house.district.55@gmail.com
larry.liston.house@state.co.us
wes.mckinley.house@state.co.us
karen@karenmiddleton.com
sue.schafer@comcast.net
COHD58@yahoo.com
edvigil1@gmail.com
markwaller.law@comcast.net
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