Gov. Bill Ritter today launched Colorado state government's Transparency Online Project through an executive order that will open up access to the state's spending and revenue records.
State Treasurer Cary Kennedy, Representative Don Marostica, Attorney General John Suthers, Secretary of State Bernie Buescher, House Speaker Terrance Carroll and Senate President Peter Groff joined the Governor by signing agreements to participate in the Transparency Online Project (TOP).
"This executive order expands our strong commitment to a transparent, accountable and open government for Colorado citizens," Gov. Ritter said. "The TOP system will ensure that citizens have timely, free and meaningful access to the state's financial information."
Gov. Ritter's order directs the Office of Information & Technology and the Office of the State Controller to establish the TOP system. TOP is a free, searchable, web-based system providing easy access to information about the state's revenues and expenditures. While providing adequate protection for privacy, safety, and security concerns, the new system will allow taxpayers to see where their money is going and how it's being spent.
"Since I came into office, my focus has been making the state's finances open and accessible," Treasurer Kennedy said. "The use of public money should always be public – it belongs to the taxpayers and they should be able to see where it goes and how it is used."
"Transparency will allow all the citizens of Colorado to see how the government spends their tax dollars, including government contracts and day-to-day expenditures," Rep. Marostica said.
"Transparency is more than a good idea -- it's good government," Attorney General Suthers said. "Public scrutiny is the best check on government."
"I fully support the efforts of this order to improve the transparency of Colorado's state finances," Secretary of State Buescher said. "Every citizen will now have the ability to see all expenditures in the Office of the Secretary of State. I have instructed my department to provide this additional level of reporting, which will promote efficiency throughout the agency."
The executive order requires that the TOP expenditure information be available by Sept. 1 and revenue information by Jan.1, 2010.
COLORADO TRANSPARENCY ONLINE PROJECT (TOP) FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What will TOP cost the state?
Approximately $70,000 in start-up costs, primarily for computer hardware, servers and software, and about $25,000 in ongoing costs.
2. What information will be searchable and available?
The system will provide access to information about state revenues and expenditures. Expenditures will be searchable by vendor, department and type of purchase. In some instances, such as victim's assistance or witness protection payments, vendor names will be protected or information will be provided in aggregate.
The TOP system will provide three different ways for citizens to view Colorado state government expenditures:
· Departmental Search: Will provide totals by department, including totals by agencies and type of spending.
· Type of Spending Search: Will provide statewide totals by type of spending (i.e., object codes including salaries and wages, benefits, operating expenses, travel, distributions to other governments, etc.) by department, agency, fund, and vendor, when applicable.
· Vendor Search: Will provide statewide totals by vendor name and information regarding which department and agency paid the vendor. Additionally, will provide the type of spending classification for goods or services provide by the vendor.
In each instance, the information will reflect what is available in the state's book of record. This varies by department and agency because higher education institutions and some departments/agencies operate on standalone accounting systems and feed only aggregated information to the state's financial accounting system.
3. When will TOP be available?
The Executive Order requires expenditure information to be available on the system by Sept. 1, 2009, and revenues by Jan. 1, 2010.
4. What agencies will be directed to participate by the Executive Order?
All agencies within the Governor's authority are directed to participate, and the executive order allows data from the legislative and judicial branches, and the offices of the Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the Secretary of State to be included. All of these offices have agreed to participate.
5. Will this replace the Colorado Open Records Act?
The TOP system is not designed nor intended to replace the Open Records Act. TOP will provide a complementary mechanism for accessing state spending data. TOP is intended to make meaningful state financial information readily available and easily accessible. TOP will not limit citizen access to state government records.
Additionally, the executive order requires the Office of Information and Technology and the Office of the State Controller to establish a continuous improvement process, so that TOP will become a more useful tool over time.
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EXECUTIVE ORDER
Establishing the Colorado Transparency Online Project
Pursuant to the authority vested in the Office of the Governor of the State of Colorado and, in particular, pursuant to Article IV, section 2, of the Colorado Constitution, I, Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor of the State of Colorado, hereby issue this Executive Order directing the Governor's Office of Information Technology ("OIT"), in consultation with the Department of Personnel & Administration ("DPA"), to create and maintain the Colorado Transparency Online Project ("TOP") system, a statewide searchable database system of the state's revenues and disbursements.
I. Background and Need
Transparency and accountability to state citizens is a hallmark of good government. The Open Meetings Act and the Colorado Open Records Act provide Colorado's citizens with a strong expectation of accountability by providing open access to the state's public records and meetings. The advent of the internet provides new opportunities for state government to foster transparency and accountability.
This Executive Order continues and expands the State of Colorado's strong commitment to an open and transparent relationship between Colorado's citizens and their government by providing citizens with easier access to information regarding state spending. This order directs OIT, in collaboration with the Office of the State Controller ("OSC") within DPA, to establish the TOP system, a free, searchable, web-based system providing access to descriptions of the state's revenues and expenditures. This interface, while providing adequate protection for privacy, safety, and security concerns, will enable citizens to review the state's revenues and expenditures and foster accountability and transparency.
II. Directives
A. The Governor's Office of Information Technology ("OIT"), working with the OSC within DPA, is hereby directed to develop and maintain the TOP system, a searchable web-based system providing access to descriptions of revenues and expenditures recorded in the state's official book of record. To ensure integrity of state records, TOP shall provide access only to a copy of relevant data and shall be maintained separately from the state accounting system. The system should be accessible without charge.
B. DPA, via the OSC, shall develop policies and procedures to ensure that the system meets, at a minimum, the following criteria:
1. Data shall be made available in compliance with state and federal law.
2. The TOP system shall provide information about state revenues and expenditures at a level of detail that enables accountability and transparency. Where access to each individual transaction is likely to hinder, rather than foster, this goal, the system may provide access to aggregated information.
3. The privacy, safety, and security of state citizens and vendors shall be adequately protected. The TOP system policies shall, at a minimum, ensure that data associated with sensitive programs are excluded or otherwise protected from inappropriate exposure.
4. To ensure that decisions regarding privacy, safety, security, and compliance with state and federal law are made by those most familiar with the relevant data and programs, OSC's policies shall require each department, agency or institution of higher education to determine what information shall be excluded from the TOP system or presented only in aggregate form. To the extent that the state accounting system includes data from the judicial and legislative branches, OSC policies shall provide a mechanism for coordinating with the executive administrator of each branch to determine the appropriate mechanism for including such data in TOP. The State Controller shall coordinate review of such decisions in coordination with the Director of OIT and the Director of the Office of State Planning and Budgeting, or their delegates. The State Treasurer shall be invited to participate in these review decisions.
C. OIT shall be responsible for the technical development of the web-based system and shall put in place policies and mechanisms to ensure the security of the system.
D. The TOP system shall be operable and generally available by January 1, 2010. Expenditure records shall be generally available by September 1, 2009.
E. The system shall be developed in a manner that protects and respects citizen and vendor privacy, safety, and security.
F. OIT and DPA, via the OSC, shall establish a continuous improvement process to improve the accessibility and usability of the TOP system.
III. Duration
This Executive Order shall continue in existence until either terminated or extended by Executive Order of the Governor. GIVEN under my hand and the Executive Seal of the State of Colorado, this 2nd day of April, 2009.
Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor
