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Melissa rewarded for open records process
By Chris Beattie, cbeattie@acnpapers.com
MELISSA - Melissa has stepped onto the state's podium for taxpayer accountability.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts recently awarded the city the 2011 Silver Leadership Circle Award for online financial transparency. Melissa is one of 20 Texas cities to receive the silver designation.
Despite its second-place standing under the 46 cities that received a Gold award, Mayor Reed Greer said that the city has in the past few years used technology to open its financial doors to citizens.
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs launched the Texas Comptroller Leadership Circle in December 2009 to recognize cities, counties and school districts that are striving toward complete financial transparency by opening their books to the public, providing clear records of spending and sharing the information in a user-friendly online format.
"When we talk about transparency in terms of government spending, we're opening financial records for public examination so taxpayers can see exactly where their money is going," Combs said. "We're promoting greater accountability and raising expectations for customer service and government transparency at all levels."
Melissa earned the award by establishing a financial transparency page on their website, www.cityofmelissa.com, which allows citizens to look at comprehensive financial reports and operating budgets for the last three fiscal years.
The webpage, annual reports and online budgets account for three of the four major criteria necessary for a gold designation. The city fell short of the top award because it lacks searchable and descriptive online check registers, the last major criterion, as well as online access to current tax rates for local option taxes.
Scoring 13 out of a possible 20 points under the Leadership Circle criteria, the city was also recognized for its transparency in non-financial areas such as online access to elected officials and increased availability of public information requests.
Greer said that the same number of city employees has been forced to increase responsibilities with less money, a shift that goes beyond visibility through online financial records.
"We so far have not had to cut employment, and we're seeing new growth," he said. "People are doing more and providing more services than before, and you can't always see online."
Though Melissa is a step down from the top of the podium for financial transparency, Greer said the city is still a step above many cities given the fragile economic situation.
"When times are good, there are no problems," he said. "When times are bad, people start to scrutinize spending more. We're opening ourselves up to that scrutiny and letting taxpayers know that we've spent on the most bang for their buck."
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