Ohio's State and Local Governments Partner for the Most Ambitious
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AGENCY TYPE Ohio’s State and Local State Government Governments Partner for the POPULATION Most Ambitious Transparency 11.6 MILLION ANNUAL BUDGET Initiative in America $69 Billion Two Statistics Plagued The team understood that these statistics and the failures they reflected were not an amorphous problem the State of Ohio whose solution Ohio could perpetually delay. Instead, they realized a lack of trust and accountability affects Today, the State of Ohio can credibly claim to both citizens and civic leaders every day. have the most ambitious and successful financial transparency effort in U.S. history. But if it weren’t Consider a business contemplating moving into for State Treasurer Josh Mandel, State Auditor Ohio and providing much-needed job growth and tax Dave Yost, and their staff, two statistics would revenue. Without clear financial transparency from have continued to haunt Ohio’s state and local the government, how could the business make an governments. These statistics reflected an erosion in informed decision about where to set up shop? the trust and accountability forming the bedrock of Or elected officials. How can they hold informed our democratic society. financial conversations with citizens if residents The first statistic was 46. cannot access the necessary information? Ohio ranked 46th when the U.S. Public Interest And finally, as Mandel emphasized, all elected officials Research Group (PIRG)’s annual Following the Money and staff work for the taxpayers. Citizens – from the Report graded Ohio’s financial transparency when school teacher to the factory worker to the doctor – are compared to other states in 2014. the bosses. They had a right to see how Ohio’s state and local governments spend hard-earned tax dollars. The second number was 65 percent. Ohio’s state and local governments were falling short 65 percent of Americans had searched online for by trapping data in complex PDFs and spreadsheets. government data in the past twelve months, according At 46th place, they were among the worst the Pew Research Center in 20151 Demand for public performing states in America. information was high, but Ohio’s governments were unable to deliver. This case study will demonstrate how the State of Ohio achieved the following by adopting OpenGov: 1 http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/21/open-government-data/ Ohio’s State and Local Governments Partner for the Most Ambitious Transparency Initiative in America 1 © 2017 OpenGov • opengov.com • Improved Transparency Grade. A Phased Approach After receiving one of the lowest financial transparency scores in U.S. PIRG’s annual Treasurer Mandel, Auditor Yost, Deputy Treasurer assessment, Ohio achieved a perfect Seth Metcalf, and the rest of the Treasurer’s office set score the following year. out to solve Ohio’s transparency problem and restore • Expanded Access to Local Financial Data. citizen trust in government. The State Treasurer’s office developed a statewide The team adopted a phased approach. During phase transparency program encompassing local financial one, Ohio published salary data for state employees data, thereby empowering both citizens and and school personnel online. Phase two promoted governments by substantially expanding access to greater transparency in state-owned properties. Phase once-limited information. three shared state expenditure data. • Saved Local Governments Time. It paid off. Today, U.S. PIRG’s Following the Money Local governments using OpenGov have report ranks Ohio as first in the nation for financial experienced reductions in time-consuming public transparency, earning the report’s first and only records requests, saving valuable staff time. perfect score in 2016. As the report said, “Ohio’s site • Saved Local Governments Money. still leads the pack, with intuitive ‘Google-style’ search Local governments also report using the platform bars, options to instantly share interesting findings, to research vendor pricing for other localities in and easily navigable ‘compare’ features that allow Ohio, as well as receiving more competitive bids users to contextualize the data they are reviewing.” from vendors that have used the platform for their own pricing research. Transparency Goes Local Treasurer Mandel and Auditor Yost were not content opening the books for just Ohio’s state government, however. They wanted to take financial transparency further than anyone else had in the country. They recognized that, in addition to state agencies, Ohio’s residents also interact with towns, cities, counties, schools, and special districts. Hard-earned tax dollars fund each of these entities. However, only 7 percent of Americans believe their local governments effectively share data, according to Pew. Ohio decided to address this by providing over 4,000 local agencies with an online checkbook. In April 2015, the Treasurer’s office decided to partner with OpenGov – the market leader in government performance solutions – to build and deploy the checkbooks. Mandel sent a letter to more than 18,000 local government officials asking them to upload their financials online. At a news conference announcing the launch, he OhioCheckbook.com clearly presents each agency’s financial breakdown by year. explained, “I believe very strongly the people of Ohio deserve to know how their money is being spent. Ohio’s State and Local Governments Partner for the Most Ambitious Transparency Initiative in America 2 © 2017 OpenGov • opengov.com [Online access] will take citizens who feel powerless Increased insights into vendor payments. and make them powerful.” Numerous cities have reported reviewing other agencies’ checkbooks when negotiating with vendors The initiative received widespread, rapid support from to ensure fair pricing. Vendors also use the data to offer Ohio’s local governments – more than 100 agencies competitive bids to local agencies. These examples responded to Mandel’s letter within a week. Anthony demonstrate one advantage of a network: bringing Traficanti, Chair of the Board of Commissioners hundreds of entities in the same state on a shared for Mahoning County, the first county to adopt platform increases the benefits to each participant. The checkbook, explained “This is about a common cause, more entities on the platform the better. and this is about doing what is right. Whether you’re Republican or Democrat, this is what we do for the taxpayers of this country.” 2016 US PIRG Report Each agency works with OpenGov directly to publish a searchable database of expenditures information from Ohio A+ 100 over the past several years. Residents can easily see Michigan A+ 100 expenditures by department, expense type, and more. Indiana A+ 100 Oregon A+ 100 Connecticut A+ 99 Wisconsin A 97 Florida A 96 Louisiana A 96 Ohio’s Checkbook Initiative Massachusetts A 95.5 Iowa A- 94.5 Enjoys Rapid Success Colorado A- 93.5 Texas A- 93.5 Illinois A- 93 Today, hundreds of local agencies have deployed New York A- 93 Montana A- 92 OpenGov’s checkbook, with more joining each week. Oklahoma A- 90.5 Nebraska A- 90 Here are just some of the benefits participating South Dakota A- 90 agencies have obtained: North Carolina B+ 89.5 Kentucky B+ 88 Maryland B+ 88 Press coverage. When an agency launches its Utah B+ 88 Vermont B+ 88 checkbook, local press frequently publish stories Washington B+ 87 Arizona B 86 highlighting the agency’s success. For example, Minnesota B 86 the Jackson County Times, wrote a story with the Tennessee B 85.5 Kansas B 84 headline “Jackson County’s Spending Becomes More Nevada B 83 New Jersey B 83 Transparent.” The article quoted several elected Pennsylvania B 83 county officials. Good press isn’t just good optics. It West Virginia B 83 Arkansas B- 82 sends a signal to residents that the agency takes trust Virginia B- 82 Rhode Island B- 81.5 and accountability seriously. Mississippi C+ 79 New Hampshire C+ 78 South Carolina C+ 78 Reduced freedom of information requests. Delaware C+ 77 Embracing financial transparency reduces information Missouri C+ 77 New Mexico C+ 77 requests, saving government staff valuable hours while Maine C+ 76 Georgia C 74 simultaneously empowering citizens. Many of Ohio Wyoming C 73 local agencies have reported these time savings. Hawaii C 71 North Dakota D+ 64 Alabama D+ 60 Engaged residents. Thousands of residents Idaho F 45 Alaska F 43 have visited local government checkbook sites California F 34 to explore data. Residents feel more informed on and engaged in their communities’ spending decisions than ever before. 7% of national survey respondents say local governments share data very effectively. OhioCheckbook.com introduced a statewide transparency program encompassing local financial data. 3 After receiving one of the lowest financial transparency scores in U.S. PIRG’s annual assessment, Ohio achieved a perfect score the following year. RESULTS Improved Transparency Grade. After receiving one of the lowest financial transparency scores in U.S. PIRG’s annual assessment, Ohio achieved a perfect score the following year. Expanded Access to Local Financial Data. The State Treasurer’s office developed a statewide transparency program encompassing local financial data, thereby empowering both citizens and governments by substantially expanding access to once-limited information. Saved Local Governments Time. Local governments using OpenGov have experienced reductions in time- consuming public records requests, saving valuable staff time. Saved Local Governments Money. Local governments also report using the platform to research vendor pricing for other localities in Ohio, as well as receiving more competitive bids from vendors that have used the platform for their own pricing research. © 2017 OpenGov • opengov.com 4 955 Charter Street, Redwood City, CA 94063 • (650) 336-7167.