State-Journal.com - Track your tax dollars

Kentuckians could have an "Open Door" into the state's financial transactions by January 2009.

Gov. Steve Beshear created an e-Transparency Task Force in June with the purpose of installing a "one-stop" information center for taxpayers on taxes, government contracts, salaries, election finance and investments.

"We're very excited about opening the shades and letting the light shine in," said Allen Eskridge, assistant secretary of state.

At a meeting Thursday in the Annex the members of the task force discussed what information can be included on the Web site and reviewed a mock-up of the "Open Door" page.

Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet Jonathan Miller, chairman of the task force, said
taxpayers will be able to access the site and see how their tax dollars are spent.

"The direction we are moving in is very exciting," Miller said. "Kentucky will have one of the best, if not the best, e-Transparency site."

The Web site will have graphs showing taxpayers what portion of their tax dollars go to education, healthcare and transportation. They will also be able to access a database of state salaries and examine purchasing transactions for everything from vehicles to pencils, Miller said.

Cabinet General Counsel Jeff Mosley said the Web site will focus on transactions and any financial information subject to an open records request will be available at the "Open Door" site.

"However, it's not meant to be a substitute for the Open Records law," he said.

Plans for the "Open Door' Web site also include a ranking of the top state appropriations, which special adviser Greg Haskamp said was a popular feature of the Oklahoma e-Transparency site.

Other features include interactive graphs and charts and a "budget builder game." Haskew said the game was developed by the Governor's Office for Policy Management and allows taxpayers to choose from three levels of difficulty " easy, with a budget surplus; medium, with balanced revenues; and hard, with a budget deficit.

Next, taxpayers have to choose their priorities, such as education, transportation or healthcare, and then allocate funds.

Some committee members suggested that a few clarifications might be necessary. Budget director Mary Lassiter said that not all state funds come from tax dollars " there are also federal funds and agency fees.

Lassiter also said taxpayers could submit an open records request if they want to learn more about a specific transaction " such as buying pencils for the Department of the Blind.

State Treasurer Todd Hollenbach said visitors should also be notified that some specific financial information that is exempt from the Open Records law, such Social Security numbers, will not be included on the "Open Door" Web site.

"It may not be apparent on the face of it that something is being withheld," Hollenbach said.

The Web site would be updated daily with new information on financial transactions.

So far, the development of the "Open Door' mock-up hasn't cost the state any money because it's included as part of the state's contract for support from Kentucky.gov.