OK Governor blocks budget transparency

Governor Brad Henry vetoed House Bill 2575, which would have required the Department of Education to finalize its reporting codes and procedures by May 1st, and prohibited the department from changing the codes more than once a year. The bill had previously been unanimously approved by both chambers, who said it would have brought greater transparency for school spending in Oklahoma.

“I can’t believe that Governor Henry actually claims that House Bill 2575 reduces the ability to track funds. In fact, the bill would actually reduce the ability to hide funds while also relieving school districts of a bureaucratic burden. Working with one set of accounting codes for an entire year does not seem to harm other states. We understand that Kansas has not changed its education accounting codes in several years while Oklahoma has changed them multiple times in the same year, making it difficult for districts that have to report the spending. The fact that HB 2575 passed unanimously in both chambers proves that Governor Henry is not responsive to the needs of Oklahomans,” said Brian Downs, Executive Director of Oklahomans for Responsible Government.

Transparency news from around the nation

Here are a few transparency updates from around the nation.

* ILLINOIS: The Chicago Tribune started an Open Records help desk to display “Strategy, help and stories about getting public information in Illinois”. Good move from the Trib, since Chicago’s Mayor Daley routinely denies FOIA requests.

Another IL piece worth reading is the Mill Creek Times’ analysis of its local government website. It mentions that Mill Creek Special Service Area is “absolutely deficient” when graded on the standards set forth in the Sunshine Review checklist.

* MICHIGAN: The Clare Sentinel published an excellent letter to the editor titled, “Grandmother spearheads transparency effort to put school district check registers online.” The letter demonstrates that school transparency is much easier than most people think. It takes just minutes per day!

* OKLAHOMA: Oklahomans for Responsible Government, a fiscal watchdog group, lamented the lack of county transparency in the Sooner State, and revealed their new transparency initiative regarding school districts.

* TENNESSEE: Governor Phil Bredesen announced a new website, TN.gov, that increases transparency by listing vendor payments and employee travel reimbursements and salaries.

* FEDERAL: President Obama is working to roll back union transparency laws. According to the Heritage Foundation, these regulations make union officials more accountable to union members and deter fraud and embezzlement.

OFRG works for greater transparency

The Oklahoman printed an op-ed by Brian Downs from Oklahomans for Responsible Government that advocated greater transparency at both the state and local government. They even cited SunshineReview.org, which sets a standard level of transparency for government websites.

Right now, Oklahoma posts much of its spending online through the Office of State Finance. But according to the Web site SunshineReview.org, Oklahoma lacks two of the six criteria for evaluating spending Web sites: contracts and line-item expenditures. Missouri is the only state that meets all six criteria. Oklahoma lawmakers should push to make our state a leader in transparency.

On the local level, Oklahoma falls behind most states in even the lowest forms of transparency. Of the state’s 77 counties, 48 have no Web site at all. Of those that do, only Payne and Rogers counties have their full budgets posted online. Clearly more needs to be done to make local governments more transparent.

In difficult economic times, transparency is an easy answer to make sure taxpayers are getting enough bang for their buck. Groups like Oklahomans for Responsible Government, Americans for Prosperity-OK, and Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs are doing their part to remind government officials of that priority.

Related: Check out Oklahoma’s Open Books website.

Senator Coburn reveals earmarks

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn is a known crusader against wasteful, secret, and pork-barrel spending and earmarks. He did the nation a favor this week when he posted an Omnibus Highlights and Numbers section on his website.

Interesting facts about this legislation:

Total Spending in the Omnibus:
According to CBO, the omnibus will cost $410 billion, $32 billion (8.4%) more than FY 2008 spending. The legislation is 1,128 pages long. Each page is equal to $363 million in spending.

Excluding emergency appropriations, the bill is:
• $19 billion (4.9%) more than President Bush’s request
• $19 billion (4.9% more than the cost of extending the continuing resolution
• $32 billion (8.4%) more than last year

Earmarks:
Total omnibus earmarks: 8,570
Total cost: $7.7 billion

The three previously enacted FY 2009 spending bills included a total of 2,321 earmarks, costing $6.6 billion.

Total FY 2009 earmarks: 10,891
Total FY 2009 earmark spending: $14.3 billion

Good grief.

H/T: Oklahoma Center for Public Affairs- compiled list of earmarks

Also… as a plug for our friends at American Majority, Senator Coburn is the keynote speaker at a special dinner on March 27th. I hope you will join me in supporting American Majority’s mission of recruiting activists that believe in fiscal restraint. Sen. Coburn could use some back-up!

Oklahoma: Transparency in schools needed, not more cash

A friend of mine that is a school superintendent always grumps and grouses when I push him to open up his school’s books to taxpayers. He’s generally a good government guy, and has even lobbied for sunshine legislation in other areas, but seems to have a real problem with demands for school transparency. My argument to him is always this: Using our education dollars wisely, including through competitive bidding and purging wasteful expenditures, increases the value each student receives through those tax monies. More efficiency = more dollars in classrooms = better education for the next generation of leaders. Apparently, I am not the only one that feels this way.

Yesterday, an editorial titled “Money grab: Millions more won’t satisfy union” ran in The Oklahoman, calling out the Oklahoman Education Association for pushing through the HOPE ballot initiative. This initiative would, according to Ballotpedia.org, “amend the state constitution and require the Legislature to fund public education to at least the per-pupil average of neighboring states.” That would mean a huge increase in education spending for the state of Oklahoma.

More money is great, right? Well, not so fast.

Groups like Oklahomans for Responsible Government, Americans for Prosperity-OK, The OK State Chamber, and the American Federation of Teachers as well as many legislators and newspapers have come out against the initiative because they say it would bankrupt the state and put existing projects and proposals on the chopping block. Another, very important reason these groups are in opposition is because Oklahoma does not currently require transparency in education dollars, leaving taxpayers in the dark on how their money is spent now. No new transparency will be required with the new proposal- just more money.

The Oklahoman editorial sums it up well: (I’m borrowing liberally- hope the ed board doesn’t mind…)

Supporters want to raise the per-pupil spending in Oklahoma to the regional average at an estimated cost of $850 million annually. Organizers say the extra money will come from growth revenue. But it seems much more likely that the change would require tax increases, starving other public services. No doubt voters will be hearing more about that in the next two years, and they should listen.

Everyone wants public schools to have what they need. Education is vital to our state’s future well-being. But more money is not a guarantee that teachers will have needed supplies, that the best teachers are in the classroom or that students will get a better education. And no matter how much money schools get, union officials won’t ever think it’s enough.

If the OEA wants more credibility, they need to be open to taxpayers. If they need suggestions on how to do this, check out the Texas Budget Source and the North Dakota Policy Council‘s Sunshine on Schools.

Read unbiased information about the OEA HOPE ballot initiative here.

Victory! Local activist makes court transparent

Local Oklahoman activist David Starkey won a battle for transparency this week when judges in Rogers County will once again allow the public into courtrooms. Starkey had documented several instances of the public turned away, including where District Judge Dwayne Steidley had posted a sign that said “Only Defendants are allowed in the court room. Family and friends must stay in the hallway.” In other words, Taxpayers: I’ll send ya the bill, but don’t expect any access to justice.

Starkey, who has a long list of grievances regarding the Rogers County courts, started a website www.rogerscountygrandjury.com to document abuses of power and other court-related issues.

The Oklahoman picked up the story:

The closed-door practice isn’t confined to Steidley’s courtroom. Next door, during a criminal docket Wednesday, a sheriff’s deputy said Special Judge Erin Oquin would have to approve any party other than attorneys before entering.

The Rogers County policy left one open government advocate aghast.

“That is unbelievable,” said Joey Senat, past president of Freedom of Information Oklahoma and an associate professor of journalism at Oklahoma State University.

Presiding Judge Dynda Post ordered Judge Steidley’s sign down and scheduled a meeting to make sure judges are allowing the public into courtrooms.

Thank you, David Starkey and other activists, for helping to make these courts more transparent. One small victory for Rogers County… one giant leap for taxpayer access.

$5,000 per sign in Tulsa?

The Tulsa World reports today that the city of Tulsa is putting up new signs to direct drivers and pedestrians downtown. Isn’t that great? Well, it may not be so wonderful for taxpayers, who are stuck with a tax increase to cover the substantial cost of the signage.

The funding for Way Finding, totaling nearly $740,000 for the 148 signs, was through the third penny sales-tax program in 2006, said a Tulsa Public Works Department senior engineer, Glen Sams. The designs were discussed in a committee of downtown and city leaders, he said.

“We started last fall on various options, sizes and color,” Sams said. “This was an art deco design and we thought it needed art deco colors.”

I’m glad they decided on art deco, but who decided on price? Call me crazy, but doesn’t $5,000 per sign seem just a little steep?

Other questions that immediately arise:
*Who was the vendor?
*How was the vendor selected?
*Was this project competitively bid?
*Did the vendor send campaign contributions to city officials responsible for the signage decisions?
*What does Oklahoma City and surrounding towns pay for signage?

I’m not sayin’… I’m just askin’.

OK courts shuttering cases from public view

A Tulsa World study has shown that over 2300 court cases in Oklahoma have files sealed by district court judges since 2003.

Joey Senat, past president of Freedom of Information Oklahoma, said he was surprised by the amount of sealed records.

“I had heard of this going on in other states, but I’m really disappointed this is happening to the courts in our state,” Senat said. “This is a real indication there are two systems — one for the rich
and powerful and one for the rest of us. The public has been left out of this process.

“One thing we need to remember is that the judges who are signing those orders are elected and the court clerks are elected. If we want our records to stay open and stay available, we need to be aware of who we are electing as court clerks and judges. Open government needs to be the issue.”

Agreed. A transparent government (including courts) allow citizens to feel they are receiving fair treatment and exposes errors and conflicts of interest to public and legal review.

One advocate suggests the way to keep yourself out of an open record is simply to keep your life out of the courts.

Mark Thomas, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association, said society should be moving toward openness.

“It gives the appearance that justice is for sale in Oklahoma, like it was 50 years ago,” Thomas said. “We should avoid that appearance at all cost.

“On occasion, there is a valid reason to seal a court record, but it should be an extreme rarity. If the public pays for our court system, then we ought to know who it’s being used for. If you want privacy, settle your affairs in private.”

Public servants, such as judges, should balance the need for sealed court cases against the public interest. When there is no real public safety or juvenile privacy concerns, the records should be as open as possible.

OK Auditor: GUILTY

The corruption trial and political career of Auditor Jeff McMahan and his wife, Lori, came to a close Saturday with a guilty verdict on three of the eight felony counts. Each will likely to serve time for accepting cash, trips, jewelry, and campaign contributions from Steve Phipps (the Tony Rezko of Oklahoma) in exchange for favorable treatment for Phipps’ businesses from the Auditor’s office.

Amid threats of impeachment, McMahan stepped down from office today. Talks of replacement Auditors have been circulating widely throughout the state in the last few weeks, with Gary Jones, Republican Party chairman who lost to McMahan in 2002 and 2006, publicly promoting himself for the appointment.

The Oklahoman has the story:

State Republican Party Chairman Gary Jones, who lost to McMahan in statewide elections in 2002 and 2006, has been openly campaigning for the auditor job recently. Jones publicly questioned the financing of McMahan’s campaign during this past election cycle.

“I knew there were some things that had happened that had affected the outcome of the race,” Jones said this afternoon.

Jones said the jury’s verdict shows that McMahan stole the election. He said that puts Henry in a unique position “to fix a wrong” by appointing him as the next state auditor and inspector.

Jones had asked to speak with the governor about the possibility of replacing McMahan before the conviction and said Monday that he will renew his call to Henry to discuss the issue.

Sund didn’t rule out the possibility that Henry could appoint a Republican to the post.

“The bottom line is he’ll pick who is the best person for the job,” regardless of party, Sund said this morning.

However, the three statewide elected officials Henry has appointed in his time in office are all Democrats: Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland, State Treasurer Scott Meacham and Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth.

Another sad day for Oklahoma with more Phipps-fallout likely to come.

If corruption inspires YOU to get involved with your community’s transparency, please visit Sunshine Review to learn how you can help track your tax dollars and hold your officials accountable.

McMahan: FBI agents are liars- I did nothing wrong

There was more news from the trial of OK state Auditor Jeff McMahan in today’s Oklahoman. McMahan proclaimed his innocence when he took the stand in his own defense yesterday, claiming the FBI agents were not telling the truth.

And add a little thwarting of democracy to the rap sheet:

Much of the auditor’s two hours under cross-examination focused on the $77,600 Phipps admitted giving Jeff McMahan’s 2002 campaign through “straw donors” to avoid the $5,000 contribution limit.

Line by line, contributor by phony contributor, Guthrie went over Jeff McMahan’s 2002 campaign contribution reports, making him acknowledge all 46 contributions that Phipps made were illegal.

“You stole that election, didn’t you?” Guthrie asked.

“I didn’t think I was stealing anything at the time,” Jeff McMahan said.

He said he felt uncomfortable with many of the contributions he received that year, including a $5,000 donation from former state Sen. Gene Stipe, whom the auditor referred to as “a bad man.” He said he didn’t return the contribution because he was told his campaign needed the money.

Hey, McMahan, even if you close your eyes really tight and say “Sally Jesse Raphael” 40 times backwards, the Feds will still be at your doorstep if you take dirty money. Can someone PLEASE tell me why Oklahoman taxpayers are STILL paying this guy’s salary?

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