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Mandel
Announces OhioCheckbook.com
First-of-its-Kind Online Checkbook Sets a New National Transparency
Standard; Displays $400 Billion in Spending with Full Search and
Compare Tools
COLUMBUS - For the first time in Ohio history, Ohio Treasurer Josh
Mandel has placed Ohio's expenditures on the internet. By visiting
OhioCheckbook.com, citizens can follow their money and hold public
officials accountable. This first-of-its-kind website allows Ohioans to
search, compare and share more than $408 billion in checkbook-level
spending, and includes data spanning the last seven fiscal years.
OhioCheckbook.com sets a new national transparency standard by not just
displaying checkbook-level spending data, but also providing taxpayers
with fully interactive tools and an unprecedented level of context.
Ohio's Online Checkbook allows anyone with a computer or smartphone to
do Google-style searches of more than $408 billion in state spending,
and lets users compare and share this information like never before.
"I believe taxpayers have a right to know how their tax money is being
spent, and I'm doing this to empower the people to hold politicians and
bureaucrats accountable," said Treasurer Mandel. "I subscribe to the
notion that sunlight is the greatest disinfectant to government waste."
"I am proud to partner with Treasurer Mandel on our Open Ohio
government transparency and accountability initiative," said
Representative Mike Dovilla. "OhioCheckbook.com is an important step
forward for taxpayers. I look forward to providing continued leadership
in our efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in government."
Features of OhioCheckbook.com include:
Checkbook-level data on more than $408 billion in
state spending over seven fiscal years, from 2008-2014;
Approximately 112 million transactions;
Approximately 3.9 billion pieces of spending
information;
Capabilities to conduct "Google-style" contextual
searches, as well as advanced searches by agency, recipient, or keyword;
Interactive charts and graphs that allow users to
drill down on state spending like never before;
Compare tools that provide context and allow users
to view state spending across 10 agencies at a time, or over the last
seven fiscal years;
Social media integration, to allow users to share
spending charts and graphs on Facebook, Twitter or other social media
accounts, as well as tools that allow users to directly contact
government agencies to inquire about spending;
Replicated images of checks that include details
about the budget funds, and reasons for the state spending;
Coaching tips and help buttons throughout to improve
the ease of navigation; and,
The ability to directly download all data in
electronic format, either by selecting an entire fiscal year or
targeting more specific data using advanced search functionality.
Data for OhioCheckbook.com comes from the state's accounting system,
the Ohio Administrative Knowledge System (OAKS). It includes all state
spending that is appropriated by the Ohio General Assembly into an
existing fund. Ohio's Online Checkbook is current through Fiscal Year
2014, which ended June 30, 2014, and will soon be updated on a monthly
basis.
OhioCheckbook.com is the latest advancement in the Treasurer's
Transparency Project, which was launched by Treasurer Mandel in 2011.
It builds on databases of state employee and teacher salaries, county
investments, and interactive state property maps previously launched on
OhioTreasurer.gov.
A recent U.S. Public Interest Research Group report notes, "Top-flight
transparency websites can save money for taxpayers, while also
restoring public confidence in government and preventing misspending
and pay-to-play contracts." OhioCheckbook.com provides considerably
more checkbook-level data and functionality than the top three online
checkbook websites currently ranked by U.S. PIRG (Indiana, Oregon, and
Florida).
The Treasurer's office investment in state-of-the-art functionality for
OhioCheckbook.com will reap dividends for taxpayers in the form of
greater government efficiency, transparency and accountability. This
top-flight transparency project will raise the bar for all government
entities, and tip off a race to greater transparency in Ohio and across
the country.
To view Ohio's Online Checkbook, visit OhioCheckbook.com, or for more
information on Treasurer Mandel and other office initiatives, go to
OhioTreasurer.gov.
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