Just one year ago, Utah opened its financial system up to the public, making every individual transaction available for scrutiny. The Utah Transparency website (transparent.utah.gov) is unique in its detail that lets users drill into what any state entity is spending. Now, one year later, the site has added public and higher education. Every education entity was required to submit complete data for the past year by yesterday. Next year, the site gets even bigger when local governments (counties and cities) are expected to add their data to the site, making it a true one-stop source for government financial data in Utah. The site is governed by a transparency board that represents an array of interests. To view Utah’s other open government efforts, you can visit open.utah.gov.
Really cool. I imagine it must be difficult to get the local governments to add their data – how is that being achieved? Tied to receiving grants?
Participation by local government is being required by law. It’s not optional.
That’s so key.
Any other states with similar efforts or to same magnitude?