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Treasurer Josh Mandel
Mandel Earns #1
Transparency Ranking in the Country
Improves Ohio's Transparency Ranking from 46th to 1st in the Nation,
Receives Highest Score in the History of U.S. PIRG's Rankings
COLUMBUS - The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) released
their annual "Following the Money 2015" report today and Treasurer Josh
Mandel earned Ohio the number one transparency ranking in the country
for providing online access to government spending data. Ohio was
prominently featured in the report after climbing from 46th to 1st in
spending transparency as a result of Treasurer Mandel's release of
OhioCheckbook.com. Due to the launch of OhioCheckbook.com, Ohio
received a perfect score of 100 points this year - the highest score in
the history of the U.S. PIRG transparency rankings.
"Treasurer Mandel's office has taken huge strides to ensure that
information about state expenditures is accessible to the public. In
the six years that we've released this report on spending transparency,
this is the highest score that any state has achieved," said Phineas
Baxandall, Senior Policy Analyst with the U.S. Public Interest Research
Group. "As other states seek to improve their online spending
transparency, they can look to OhioCheckbook.com as an example. To stay
on top, we expect that Ohio will need to keep building on the strong
transparency tools that Treasurer Mandel has already established."
"I'm proud to have built OhioCheckbook.com and taken Ohio's
transparency ranking from 46th to 1st in the nation," said Treasurer
Mandel. "I'm doing this because I believe the people of Ohio have
a right to see how their tax money is being spent. My vision is
to create an army of citizen watchdogs who are empowered to hold the
politicians accountable. The work U.S. PIRG's doing on open
government is helping set off a national race for transparency."
"As the chief financial officers in states across the country,
Treasurers can play an important role in improving transparency for
state and local taxpayers. Josh Mandel is leading the charge and
pushing the envelope in Ohio and across the country through
OhioCheckbook.com," said Tennessee Treasurer David Lillard, President
of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST). "I will
continue to encourage other state treasurers to find innovative ways to
empower taxpayers."
This report is the U.S. PIRG's sixth annual evaluation of state
transparency websites. Read the U.S. PIRG press release, the full
report, and a list of the 50 state rankings at: USPIRG.org.
Highlights of the U.S. PIRG Report's references to Ohio's new
transparency site include:
Pg. 3 - "Ohio unveiled an entirely new transparency website
incorporating all of the features typically found on leading sites, as
well as cutting-edge functionality."
Pg. 22 - "Ohio saw the largest improvement with an increase of 49
points. This is the first year of our study in which the state
with the highest score was also the most improved."
Pg. 23 - "The launch of Ohio's new transparency portal marks the
beginning of a new era of open government for the state."
Pg. 24 - "Ohio has made enormous strides with its new site, which
incorporates user-friendly features that are commonplace on the
internet's cutting-edge sites but typically lacking in government's web
presence."
Pg. 24 - "Ohio's transparency website pursues topflight standards for
user-friendliness, creating a portal that feels like many search
websites citizens use every day."
Pg. 32 - "Ohio sets a new standard for user-friendliness and
accountability with its online checkbook: Many transparency
websites offer search functions and contact information, but Ohio's new
online checkbook raises the bar."
Pg. 32 - "With the ability to conduct Google-style contextual searches,
which populate instant search suggestions based on the letters typed
into the search bar, Ohioans will find that their state's transparency
website looks and behaves much like the webpages they most commonly
visit and interact with elsewhere on the internet."
OhioCheckbook.com was launched on December 2, 2014, marking the first
time in Ohio history when citizens could actually see every expenditure
in state government. It displays more than $408 billion in
spending over the past seven years, including more than 112 million
transactions. The website includes cutting-edge features such as:
"Google-style" contextual search capabilities, to allow users to sort
by keyword, department, category or vendor;
Fully dynamic interactive charts to drill down on state spending;
Functionality to compare state spending year-over-year or among
agencies; and,
Capability to share charts or checks with social media networks, and
direct contact for agency fiscal offices.
Coalition Supports Transparency Efforts Through OhioCheckbook.com
A strong coalition of groups from across the spectrum have expressed
support for Treasurer Mandel's efforts on OhioCheckbook.com.
"Kudos to Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel for unveiling the best website
I've seen to easily slice-and-dice how government spends money," said
Dennis Hetzel, Executive Director of the Ohio Newspaper Association and
President of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government. "OhioCheckbook.com
is a great tool for journalists and anyone who supports open government
in Ohio. Treasurer Mandel has done a service to all of Ohio with
this website."
"Access to state spending online encourages the public to ask questions
and government officials to be thrifty," said Catherine Turcer of
Common Cause Ohio. "Ongoing access to this information is
important because it reinforces government accountability to taxpayers."
"Efforts like OhioCheckbook.com are critical for the future of
transparency in Ohio. In the long-run, the only way Ohio
taxpayers are going to be able to hold government accountable for how
it spends their money is to see exactly what the government is doing,"
said Greg Lawson of The Buckeye Institute. "This lies at the
heart of what The Buckeye Institute has long pushed for with our own
public salary databases."
"The Ohio Society of CPAs has long supported increased transparency
throughout government," said Scott Wiley, President and CEO of the Ohio
Society of CPAs. "Treasurer Mandel's online checkbook helps open the
books for taxpayers across Ohio and is a step in the right direction
when it comes to increasing government transparency."
For more information visit OhioCheckbook.com.
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