With public corruption among government officials becoming a growing concern, Reclaim New York, an organization that aims to improve government transparency, met with several advocates to announce a new database that will make citizens aware of how government officials are spending their money.
“This database will allow every taxpayer to see how their money is being spent and judge whether those funds are being spent legally and effectively,” said Brandon Muir, executive director of Reclaim.
The database was inspired by the site www.ohiocheckbook.com, which was created by Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, whose site led to Ohio becoming the best-ranked state in terms of government fiscal transparency, after previously being ranked 46th.
Reclaim’s goal is to eventually publicize fiscal information on more than 3,400 government entities, using the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) to request the information. So far, of the 253 government entities Reclaim has pressed for support, only Nassau County has shared its spending data with the public. Comptroller George Maragos has been credited with leading Nassau County’s government transparency efforts.
“Governments have a legal and a moral obligation to be transparent in conducting the people’s business,” said Maragos.
A key part of Reclaim’s plan is to encourage active involvement from citizens by teaching them how to open government books and interpret the data they see. Fitting for a policy of transparency was Muir’s assessment of the standards local government officials will be held to.
“Transparency is not a hope or an idea,” he said. “It’s the law.”
