(Hilton Head Island Packet, Monday, Sept. 7)
By MARTI COVINGTON mcovington@beaufortgazette.com
The city of Beaufort already has made records of its financial transactions available online, and Beaufort County says it will follow suit.
Officials with other local municipalities, however, don't have firm plans to get their own records up on the Web.
The city of Beaufort already has made records of its financial transactions available online, and Beaufort County says it will follow suit.
Officials with other local municipalities, however, don't have firm plans to get their own records up on the Web.
S.C. Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom encouraged the state's local governments to post their checkbooks online shortly after the state's spending-transparency Web site launched in March 2008.
Since then, 12 governments have put their monthly spending and revenue records on the Internet, according to the comptroller's office. They include the city of Charleston and Dorchester County.
Hilton Head Island town manager Steve Riley said he is aware of the steps other governments are taking to put the financial information online but has not yet talked with his staff and council members about posting town records. The idea might surface in time, he said.
"We've got some other things we're trying to put out and balance at the moment, and that's not at the top of my priority list right now," Riley said.
Port Royal town manager Van Willis said the town is updating its Web site and hopes to have monthly financial records posted as a new feature. But no timeline has been set for when that will happen.
"We have financials that we do every month that anyone can take a look at," Willis said. "That's available at no charge, and that's something we'll probably post. We're kind of in flux, so there a number of things we're looking to add."
The city of Beaufort recently launched an online financial "dashboard," a one-page document that provides year-to-date reports on the city's revenues, expenses and fund balance.
Beaufort County deputy administrator Bryan Hill said last month the county's line-item budget would soon be up on the Web, with plans to include more financial data over time.
Officials with the town of Bluffton were unavailable for comment Friday.
3 comments:
"A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." - George W. Bush
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