Closing the Public Window



Thursday’s second editorial asks Georgetown to restore its prior commitment to transparency, in the form of weekly check registers.

Back in March during Sunshine Week, when we annually promote the benefits of government transparency, we praised all of the local governments that have put their weekly spending online for taxpayers to review. At that time, we noticed that the city of Georgetown hadn’t updated its own weekly check registers for six months.

Finance Director Jessica Miller told us then that it was a temporary issue, caused by a cutback in finance workers and a lack of time. But she assured us that the check registers would start to be posted again soon. It was disappointing, then, to read the report in the Georgetown Times this past week and discover that the city’s weekly spending is still absent from its website. City Councilman Paige Sawyer told the newspaper that he was unaware of the problem, but that Miller told him she hopes to have the spending posted again eventually.

It’s somewhat interesting that Sawyer, a main force behind the push to put the check registers online, didn’t notice for more than eight months that they were no longer being updated, but it’s understandable. After all, reading the weekly registers is often as interesting as reading any budget document.

But the purpose of publishing spending documents is not so much to fulfill a desire by taxpayers to read the details of every single line item expense, but more so that those spending the money know that such information is available to the public if and when they want it. If a city employee knows that all of his purchases will be made public, it’s hoped that he will be that much more careful to put public money to its best and wisest use. Since August, Georgetown has been without that extra level of accountability.

 

Finance Director Jessica Miller told us then that it was a temporary issue, caused by a cutback in finance workers and a lack of time. But she assured us that the check registers would start to be posted again soon. It was disappointing, then, to read the report in the Georgetown Times this past week and discover that the city’s weekly spending is still absent from its website. City Councilman Paige Sawyer told the newspaper that he was unaware of the problem, but that Miller told him she hopes to have the spending posted again eventually.

It’s somewhat interesting that Sawyer, a main force behind the push to put the check registers online, didn’t notice for more than eight months that they were no longer being updated, but it’s understandable. After all, reading the weekly registers is often as interesting as reading any budget document.

But the purpose of publishing spending documents is not so much to fulfill a desire by taxpayers to read the details of every single line item expense, but more so that those spending the money know that such information is available to the public if and when they want it. If a city employee knows that all of his purchases will be made public, it’s hoped that he will be that much more careful to put public money to its best and wisest use. Since August, Georgetown has been without that extra level of accountability.