By James Quintero

Just five years ago, the Lone Star State faced the specter of a $10 billion budget shortfall. Rather than reflexively raising taxes – as most governments have done – Gov. Rick Perry and strong conservative leadership in the Texas Legislature opted instead to cut spending.

As a result, Texans today enjoy a robust economy, strong job growth, and unemployment levels well below the national average. But since the close of the 2003 budget shortfall, there has been a quiet resurgence in government spending.

Between fiscal years 2003 and 2008, state government spending has increased 45 percent, from $59.1 billion to $85.7 billion. Texas local government spending between 2003 and 2006 increased nearly 20 percent, to a total of $95.5 billion. Spending at the state and local level has been excessive in light of the fact that the state’s population has only grown 9 percent since 2003.

Longing for a return to limited government and fiscal discipline, many taxpayers have sought a series of government measures in transparency and accountability. By opening up government spending, Texas taxpayers may begin to peel back the layers of public finance and expose waste and inefficiencies.

On August 8, Texas took two more important steps along the path to spending transparency and accountability.

First, Collin County unveiled the Financial Transparency Project. For the first time in American history, citizens can look and see exactly where their tax dollars are going at the county level. Located on the county auditor’s website, the new feature allows taxpayers to review the individual expenditures by county government starting with the current fiscal year.

A huge step forward in government transparency efforts, the county’s project goes well beyond just posting financial data. The site also features five-year tax and expenditure summaries, budget analyses, quarterly statistical data, a Citizens Report, and contact information for taxpayers wanting to know more.

Improving financial transparency in Texas local governments represents the next frontier in government accountability. As the first of its kind, Collin County’s transparency project is an important first step in the right direction, and County Judge Keith Self and his fellow commissioners have set an outstanding example for the other 253 Texas counties.

At the state level, the Legislative Budget Board announced the same day that each agency’s Legislative Appropriation Request (LAR) would be placed online as they are turned in.

While LARs have long been available to the public, Sen. Dan Patrick of Houston deserves credit for convincing the board that taxpayers should be able to find these public documents on a single page rather than having to divine where these are stored on each individual agency’s website.

With LARs now in one central location, taxpayers can more easily review the financial demands made by each agency and how the agency intends to use taxpayer funds. Interested taxpayers are encouraged to contact their legislators after reviewing an agency’s LAR and offer recommendations to reduce the size of the budget.

Transparency in government is an effective, simple, and inexpensive way to return the financial reins of power back to taxpayers. Often, fresh sets of eyes looking at these financial documents are needed to identify spending practices that are wasteful, inefficient, or duplicative. Governments have grown too big to rely solely on 181 legislators or 5 county commissioners to serve as the taxpayers’ watchdogs; when spending information is published online, these public servants get thousands (if not millions) of reinforcements.

Giving taxpayers more authority in how government spends its money is the most effective way to curb the growth of government and prevent future budget shortfalls.

Given the capabilities and low costs of 21st-century technology, the time has come for every level of Texas government – school districts, cities, counties, and the state – to fully reveal themselves to those footing the bill. With the transparency tools in place, Texans can stand up and demand government make efficient and responsible use of taxpayer resources.