AZ transparency helps fight tax increase

The Goldwater Institute, uses information gleaned from transparency to help fight higher taxes. Who wants to give more money to a government agencies that have a history of waste and abuse?

Oklahoma’s stimulus transparency gets a hard look from OFRG

President Obama stated the federal stimulus money would be transparent, and used to put people back to work. While the latter goal is still up for debate, Peter Rudy from Oklahomans for Responsible Government went in search of how his state’s portion of the money was spent.

Mr. Rudy had some simple questions, but it wasn’t simple trying to find the right person to answer them. He contacted the governor’s office, who directed him to the treasurer, who directed him to the auditor and comptroller, who ultimately directed him to the 12 agency heads in charge of dispensing $114 million of taxpayer dollars. Did you get all of that?

These were Peter’s questions:
1. Is that money just sitting in the Treasury waiting for the next fiscal year (starts July 1st) so it can be used?
2. Has any of the money been spent already? If so, on what?
3. If it has been spent, is it the governor that determines that or the agency head?
4. Was the legislature involved in any way (again meaning for any spending in the current fiscal year)?

To read about answers to these titillating questions, go check out the Oklahomans for Responsible Government blog:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Here’s a hint of how it went…

[T]his little exercise shows how far we have to go for true transparency. I can go online with my checking account and see every check that I’ve written and where my debit card has been used and for how much. Yet I can’t find out how $114-million is spent by state agencies without specifically inquiring with each agency. I hope that the transparency and accountability for Oklahoma stimulus dollars is an ongoing process and will become more transparent. Because taxpayers deserve to have clear information presented. They shouldn’t be forced to hunt for it.

Follow up on the lavish lifestyle of Charles Flowers

An editorial appeared in the Wednesday edition of the Chicago Tribune, which outlined in greater detail the irregularities found in the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education budget. Included in this report are the shocking expenditures that Charles Flowers assumed would go unnoticed by the Cook County taxpayers. Unfortunately for him they have been noticed and a memo has been sent to Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez for their review into the taxpayer-funded shopping spree. A few of the shocking expenditures include:

• Changes for thousands of dollars in private expenses for him and his family on a trip to Mississippi
• $15,000 in cash advances for two employees, including his sister that holds a position as his administrative assistant
• Money paid towards his nephew who only worked eight hour days but received pay for nine

In addition to these purchases, Flowers still could not account for 70% of the receipts for charges made on this government card as mentioned in the previous blog entry. The state’s attorney will have her hands full as more details are uncovered regarding just how much taxpayer money was wasted at the command of Superintendent Flowers.

The Importance of Hosting School Budgets Online

Corporate bailouts have been in the news as of late, but how about personal bailouts? Well, Charles Flowers, the superintendent of the Suburban Cook County Regional Office of Education was found recently to be skimming the district’s cash account when his paychecks just were not enough. Oh yeah, and this scheme also included his two sisters and nephew.
Phil Kadner of the Southtown Star reported that

Less that a year after his election, he approved a $6,000 cash to his sister Barbara Flowers. “These repayments were to occur each pay period stating on April 4th 2008.”

When the state auditor general became involved it was found and reported that, “the payroll register does not show any repayments between this date [April 4, 2008] and June 30, 2008.” This money, paid out illegally, and unbeknownst to the taxpayers, was used for various personal purchases whose receipts have conveniently been hard to locate. When asked about the allegations of theft, Dr. Flowers claimed that the bills were “repaid from his personal bank account.” Apparently the money was taken and paid back, all without proper documentation that would come with having the receipts on hand. No harm right? It will be interesting to see what the Illinois State’s Attorney will think of that story.

When it is all said and done, I think it’s safe to say that the taxpayers of greater Suburban Cook County will be calling for greater transparency within the district’s expansive public budget.
Actions that Cook County taxpayers will likely call for might mirror the measures that just have been enacted in Freeland and Bullock Creek schools in Michigan. These two schools are the first in the state to post their checkbook registers online as part of a ‘Show Michigan the Money’ statewide transparency project by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Ultimately, something tells me that this will not be the last case of abuse we hear of within the public school systems in Illinois. This will especially be the case if the budgets become available to a wider range of taxpayers and watchdogs interested in where their money goes; both for planned projects and anything illegal in nature that might be going on.

Welcome, John Gargula

Please welcome John Gargula, the new Allied Support intern at Sam Adams Alliance. John will be helping me keep the blog up-to-date this summer (I know, I know, I need the help!) so please give him a warm welcome and lots of comment love.

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger signs Transparency in Government Pledge

Chicago, June 1 – Todd Stroger made Cook County political history today when he stepped up to the plate and became the highest ranking county official to sign the Transparency in Government Pledge. The pledge is part of the Open Illinois project of the Illinois Policy Institute and the government transparency website Sunshine Review (www.sunshinereview.org), a project of the Sam Adams Alliance.

“We commend President Stroger for signing the Transparency in Government Pledge,” said John Tsarpalas, Sam Adams Alliance President. “Open and honest government is the ‘responsibility’ of all elected officials, and any effort to engage in transparency is a step in the right direction.”

The Sam Adams Alliance received a letter from Mr. Stroger’s office that contained a signed pledge with a witness signature from the president. The form was dated May 26, 2009, and did contain two inserted words. Responsible, was added in front of the words efforts to implement, referring to “greater transparency” and “comprehensive transparency program.”

“I contacted Mr. Stroger’s office on the 15 of May to discuss the need for open and honest government in Cook County and to ask him to sign the pledge,” said Paul Miller, Communications Director for the Sam Adams Alliance. “I wasn’t able to get through to him, but an aide, Dawn Austin, asked me to send her the pledge and she would present it to Mr. Stroger.”

President Stroger included a personal letter with his pledge that indicated his pride in the current level openness in Cook County government:

I have reviewed the Sunshine Review Ten-Point Transparency Checklist and I am proud Cook County discloses a wealth of information on our website.

A significant initiative was the redesign of the county’s website which now provides access to much of the information suggested for county websites by the Sunshine Review. As the website continues to evolve, additional information contained in the Checklist will be made accessible.

“The Sunshine Review community will continue to watch Cook County and every county website in the country and report on their level of transparency,” said Miller. “We look forward to Mr. Stroger following through on his pledge to meet the criteria for all ten points of the transparency checklist.”