Earlier this month we wrote about a newly-discovered $1.7 million deficit in the 2007-2008 budget that resulted from what now appears to be inflated revenue figures invented by former City Manager Tim Schuenke and approved by our City Council (“Budget Deficit Requires Leadership From City Hall” October 2, 2008).  And there’s concern a similar hole will be showing up in the current budget.

How did that happen?  One explanation is that Schuenke may simply have made up revenue numbers as needed to match up against expenses, and the Council members rubber-stamped them.  Meanwhile, taxpayers were none the wiser until current City Manager Jim Hock blew the whistle on it and warned that “dramatic cost-cutting measures” will be needed.

What form will those cuts take?  We don’t know yet.

But the unexpected nature of that deficit, coming at a time of national economic crisis and even higher property tax bills, points to the need for both more competent management or our tax dollars and more transparency of City finances so that the taxpayers have the ability to see for themselves where their money is going. (And more financial transparency from our other local governmental bodies wouldn’t hurt, either).

Hopefully, Mr. Hock will provided his share of competent management.  And maybe the members of our City Council, now that they’ve been burned once by funny-money budgeting, will start paying closer attention to the budget process and not accept everything they’re told about revenues and expenses on blind faith.

But along with our elected and appointed officials raising their games, we also need a process by which we taxpayers can keep an eye on how and on what our money is being spent – whether it be on employee salaries and benefits, sidewalk replacement, trucks, debt service, or road salt.  And this information should not require a FOIA request, but should be readily and easily accessible on the City’s website.

We should be able to find, from the convenience of our homes or offices, all of the City’s expenditures in line-item fashion on an easily searchable database that discloses such information as the name of each contractor or vendor, the purpose of the expenditure, the date, the amount, and which official (e.g., department head) requested/authorized it. 

And the beauty of transparency is that it enhances that other benchmark of responsible government: Accountability.  Because as taxes continue to increase and property values continue to decline, we need more of that in local government at every level.