Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

Horry councils ahead on openness

In early October, I was honored to address a small crowd on the steps of Myrtle Beach City Hall. The purpose was to commend the Surfside Beach and Myrtle Beach for posting their spending details on the Internet, and to encourage other local governments to do the same.

In March 2008, I was successful in putting the spending details for South Carolina government - more than 80 state agencies - on the Web. I like to think the Web site not only pulls back the curtains of government so that ordinary citizens can see where their money is going, but also holds those in charge of our purse-strings accountable. Just as a burglar doesn't break into a well-lit home, public officials are unlikely to mismanage public funds if they know their spending decisions are subject to public scrutiny.

It seemed like a logical next step to encourage cities, towns, counties and school districts to do the same. I met personally with more than a dozen local governments, including mayors, town council members and county administrators, urging them to begin putting their check registers on their Web sites.

I first went to my local town council and asked them to do this. They agreed. The strategy was to praise them for their transparency, and to hold them up as a model that other governments should follow.

The strategy worked. Since that time, more than a dozen local governments across the state have begun posting their individual expenditures on the Web, giving taxpayers unprecedented access to information about how their hard-earned money is being used. Several more, including the cities of Georgetown and Columbia and Richland County, have told me they plan to do so in the near future.

Those that have already posted their monthly check registers to the Web will attest that it is neither costly nor time-consuming. One county administrator told me it takes a mere hour per month to do this. Another told me it takes 5 minutes. It is important to note that, whether a local government cuts 100 checks a month or 20,000, the process is the same. It's just as easy for large counties as it is for small towns. I have an outstanding offer to put any government that wishes to do this in touch with a city or county that has already done it.

On the steps of City Hall that day, I noted that Surfside and Myrtle Beach are helping lead the way in this transparency movement. By voluntarily posting their expenditures on the Internet, they are helping usher in a new era of open, accountable government. Other local governments in Horry County, and indeed across the state, would do well to follow their lead.

Shining a light on the spending of public money is a good remedy for waste and financial mismanagement. But aside from the tangible benefits of financial transparency, open government also goes a long way toward restoring the trust that many people have lost in government.

Elected officials who make spending decisions that are in the best interest of those they serve should welcome this initiative. Citizens should contact their elected leaders and urge them to support it.

Financial transparency isn't a party issue. It's not a conservative or a liberal issue. It's simply good government. People have a right to see how their tax dollars are spent, and government officials have an obligation to show them.

The writer is S.C. Comptroller.