New momentum for local government transparency

Across the state, there’s a growing movement that will result in greater government efficiency and accountability.

Several local governments have begun putting their monthly check registers on the Internet. By doing so, they are empowering taxpayers with click-of-a-mouse access to details about how their hard-earned tax dollars are spent… and helping create a new era of transparency in South Carolina.

I’ve long believed transparency improves the quality of government. When public spending is done in the open, public officials are usually more accountable. They tend to make better decisions, knowing those decisions will face public scrutiny.

That’s why, several months ago, my office began a campaign to encourage local governments to voluntarily post their spending details on the Internet. We had recently unveiled a spending transparency Web site for state agencies, and local government spending transparency seemed like a logical next step. To make it as easy and inexpensive as possible, my office has offered to host the information on our own Web site if necessary.

Two-thousand-nine will go down as a watershed year for transparency in South Carolina. The towns of Irmo and Turbeville, the cities of Aiken and Cayce, and Charleston, Dorchester and Anderson counties have begun posting their monthly check registers online. The city of Columbia and the town of South Congaree have recently announced their intentions to do so. I also recently heard that Myrtle Beach was considering it, and a York County Council member told me he is exploring the idea.

And while my office’s efforts have focused on encouraging local units of government to voluntarily put their spending on the Internet, there has also been legislative debate over whether to compel them to do so. School districts soon will begin putting their spending details online, and a measure under consideration would require colleges and universities to do so. Thanks to the hard work of the S.C. Policy Council, Sen. Mike Rose and others, government at all levels is becoming much more transparent in South Carolina.

In putting such information at people’s fingertips, these local officials are sending an important message: It’s not their money they’re spending. It’s the people’s money, and people deserve easy access to how it’s spent. These local officials are also helping to gain the confidence of those they serve, which is important at a time when too many people distrust government or hold it in low esteem.

In meeting with local governments from across the state, I’ve been encouraged by the responses I’ve received. Many understand it’s their responsibility to provide such information, and to make it as easy as possible to access. Still, it’s clear to me that many local governments simply will not voluntarily do so, at least not without pressure from their citizens.

That’s why it’s important that citizens make their voices heard. Contact your local elected officials. Let them know you believe transparency is the best policy. Good government is made even better when it’s conducted in full view of the public.

A new era of transparency in South Carolina

When those in positions of public trust operate in full view of the people they represent, we’re all better off. Transparency is the key to sound governance.

We’re entering a new era of transparency in South Carolina. The S.C. House of Representatives recently adopted a new policy that will require legislators to take more votes on the record, so the folks back home can know where their elected representatives stand on issues. And last year my office created a spending transparency Web site for state agencies, so anyone with Internet access can see how the state is spending their hard-earned tax dollars.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, something else very special happened in Columbia: Thirty-one members of the House of Representatives filed a bill to make spending by local governments -- cities, towns, counties and school districts -- more transparent. Specifically, the House’s “online check register” legislation that I've backed will require local governments to put specific spending details on the Internet.

My office had already been working to persuade local governments to voluntarily put the details of their spending online, and we've even offered to include the information on our own Web site if necessary. I've been encouraged by the response we’ve received, and we expect the first local governments to begin posting their spending details on the Internet by this spring.

It’s worth noting that putting this information on the Internet isn't costly or difficult. When my staff and I established the statewide spending-transparency site, we did so without incurring additional cost and without hiring additional staff members.

But while many local governments I have met with indicate they intend to voluntarily comply, others are unwilling to give citizens such easy access to how their tax dollars are spent. They tend to view the money they spend as the government’s money, when they should be viewing it as the people’s money. I fear that for some governments it will take nothing short of a law to bring true transparency.

Special thanks to these 31 taxpayer heroes -- Mike Pitts and Jeff Duncan of Laurens County; Joe Daning and Tim Scott of Berkeley County; Seth Whipper and Speaker Bobby Harrell of Charleston; Nikki Haley, Kenny Bingham and Ted Pitts of Lexington; Derham Cole, Lanny Littlejohn and Joey Millwood of Spartanburg; Nathan Ballentine of Richland; Mark Willis, Bill Wylie, Dan Hamilton, Tommy Stringer, Garry Smith, Harry Cato and Eric Bedingfield of Greenville; Tom Young, Roland Smith and Jim Stewart of Aiken; Don Bowen, Michael Thompson and Mike Gambrell of Anderson; Bill Herbkersman of Beaufort; Jenny Horne and Annette Young of Dorchester; Herb Kirsh of York; and Robert Williams of Darlington – who are working to make local government transparency a matter of law. They join Senators Kevin Bryant of Anderson County, Larry Grooms of Berkeley and Dick Elliott of Horry, each of whom has proposed similar legislation in the Senate.

Enabling citizens to evaluate public spending from their home computers will help to make government officials more accountable and improve the quality of our government.