Transparency Wrap-Up
I can’t help but be impressed with every post I’ve read on the Colorado Spending Transparency (COST) blog run by our transparency Czar (just kidding), I mean Transparency Director Amy Oliver. Following our investigative reporter Todd Shepherd’s report, Amy’s thoughts on Bill Ritter’s lack of disclosure transparency were right on the money. She has also been taking the Greeley-Evans school district property tax hike (3A) to task – both on the COST blog and on her own personal blog. After BJ Nikkel successfully passed transparency legislation forcing the state to create and maintain a website that showed state spending in an easy, search-able format, they unfortunately came out with this poor excuse of a transparency website. Amy has written several times on the inadequacies of the TOPS site in providing spending reports, but this most recent assessment shows just how poor TOPS is. Evidently, transparency still means general rather than specific, while conveniently leaving out any and all semblance of context. No, I’m afraid that… “we spent $100″ does not constitute transparency in spending.
Also, don’t forget tonight’s episode of Independent Thinking, hosted by none of than the Mistress of Transparency herself – Amy Oliver.
(Amy, you’re choice is either Mistress or Czar. “Director” is just too boring).
