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May 11, 2010 by
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Governor Brad Henry , which would have required the Department of Education to finalize its reporting codes and procedures by May 1st, and prohibited the department from changing the codes more than once a year. The bill had previously been unanimously approved by both chambers, who said it would have brought greater transparency for school spending in Oklahoma.
“I can’t believe that Governor Henry actually claims that House Bill 2575 reduces the ability to track funds. In fact, the bill would actually reduce the ability to hide funds while also relieving school districts of a bureaucratic burden. Working with one set of accounting codes for an entire year does not seem to harm other states. We understand that Kansas has not changed its education accounting codes in several years while has changed them multiple times in the same year, making it difficult for districts that have to report the spending. The fact that HB 2575 passed unanimously in both chambers proves that Governor Henry is not responsive to the needs of Oklahomans,” said Brian Downs, Executive Director of .
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May 5, 2009 by
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Here are a few transparency updates from around the nation.
* ILLINOIS: The viagra 25 started an to display “Strategy, help and stories about getting public information in Illinois”. Good move from the Trib, since Chicago’s Mayor Daley .
Another IL piece worth reading is the . It mentions that Mill Creek Special Service Area is “absolutely deficient” when graded on the standards set forth in the .
* MICHIGAN: The Clare Sentinel published an excellent letter to the editor titled, “.” The letter demonstrates that school transparency is much easier than most people think. It takes just minutes per day!
* OKLAHOMA: , a fiscal watchdog group, lamented the lack of county transparency in the Sooner State, and regarding school districts.
* TENNESSEE: Governor Phil Bredesen , , that increases transparency by listing vendor payments and employee travel reimbursements and salaries.
* FEDERAL: President Obama is . According to the Heritage Foundation, these regulations make union officials more accountable to union members and deter fraud and embezzlement.
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March 16, 2009 by
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The Oklahoman printed an by Brian Downs from that advocated greater transparency at both the state and local government. They even cited , which sets a standard level of transparency for government websites.
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In difficult economic times, transparency is an easy answer to make sure taxpayers are getting enough bang for their buck. Groups like , , and are doing their part to remind government officials of that priority.
Related: Check out website.
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March 5, 2009 by
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Oklahoma Senator is a known crusader against wasteful, secret, and pork-barrel spending and earmarks. He did the nation a favor this week when he posted an section on his website.
Interesting facts about this legislation:
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According to CBO, the omnibus will cost $410 billion, $32 billion (8.4%) more than FY 2008 spending. The legislation is 1,128 pages long. Each page is equal to $363 million in spending.viagra 25
• $19 billion (4.9%) more than President Bush’s request
• $19 billion (4.9% more than the cost of extending the continuing resolution
• $32 billion (8.4%) more than last yearviagra 25
Total omnibus earmarks: 8,570
Total cost: $7.7 billionThe three previously enacted FY 2009 spending bills included a total of 2,321 earmarks, costing $6.6 billion.
Total FY 2009 earmarks: 10,891
Total FY 2009 earmark spending: $14.3 billion
Good grief.
H/T: - compiled
Also… as a plug for our friends at , Senator Coburn is the keynote speaker at a . I hope you will join me in supporting American Majority’s mission of recruiting activists that believe in fiscal restraint. Sen. Coburn could use some back-up!
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October 23, 2008 by
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A friend of mine that is a school superintendent always grumps and grouses when I push him to open up his school’s books to taxpayers. He’s generally a good government guy, and has even lobbied for sunshine legislation in other areas, but seems to have a real problem with demands for school transparency. My argument to him is always this: Using our education dollars wisely, including through competitive bidding and purging wasteful expenditures, increases the value each student receives through those tax monies. More efficiency = more dollars in classrooms = better education for the next generation of leaders. Apparently, I am not the only one that feels this way.
Yesterday, an titled viagra 25 ran in viagra 25, calling out the Oklahoman Education Association for pushing through the HOPE ballot initiative. This initiative would, according to , viagra 25 That would mean a huge increase in education spending for the state of Oklahoma.
More money is great, right? Well, not so fast.
Groups like , , , and the as well as many legislators and newspapers have come out against the initiative because they say it would bankrupt the state and put existing projects and proposals on the chopping block. Another, very important reason these groups are in opposition is because does not currently require transparency in education dollars, leaving taxpayers in the dark on how their money is spent now. No new transparency will be required with the new proposal- just more money.
The sums it up well: (I’m borrowing liberally- hope the ed board doesn’t mind…)
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If the OEA wants more credibility, they need to be open to taxpayers. If they need suggestions on how to do this, check out the and the ‘s .
Read unbiased information about the OEA HOPE ballot initiative .
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October 13, 2008 by
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Local Oklahoman activist David Starkey won a battle for transparency this week when judges in Rogers County will once again allow the public into courtrooms. Starkey had documented several instances of the public turned away, including where District Judge Dwayne Steidley had posted a sign that said “Only Defendants are allowed in the court room. Family and friends must stay in the hallway.” In other words, Taxpayers: I’ll send ya the bill, but don’t expect any access to justice.
Starkey, who has a long list of grievances regarding the Rogers County courts, started a website to document abuses of power and other court-related issues.
viagra 25 picked up the story:
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Presiding Judge Dynda Post ordered Judge Steidley’s sign down and scheduled a meeting to make sure judges are allowing the public into courtrooms.
Thank you, David Starkey and other activists, for helping to make these courts more transparent. One small victory for Rogers County… one giant leap for taxpayer access.
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September 30, 2008 by
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The reports today that the city of Tulsa is putting up new signs to direct drivers and pedestrians downtown. Isn’t that great? Well, it may not be so wonderful for taxpayers, who are stuck with a tax increase to cover the substantial cost of the signage.
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I’m glad they decided on art deco, but who decided on price? Call me crazy, but doesn’t $5,000 per sign seem just a little steep?
Other questions that immediately arise:
*Who was the vendor?
*How was the vendor selected?
*Was this project competitively bid?
*Did the vendor send campaign contributions to city officials responsible for the signage decisions?
*What does Oklahoma City and surrounding towns pay for signage?
I’m not sayin’… I’m just askin’.
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August 11, 2008 by
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A study has shown that over 2300 court cases in Oklahoma have files sealed by district court judges since 2003.
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Agreed. A transparent government (including courts) allow citizens to feel they are receiving fair treatment and exposes errors and conflicts of interest to public and legal review.
One advocate suggests the way to keep yourself out of an open record is simply to keep your life out of the courts.
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Public servants, such as judges, should balance the need for sealed court cases against the public interest. When there is no real public safety or juvenile privacy concerns, the records should be as open as possible.
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June 16, 2008 by
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The corruption trial and political career of Auditor Jeff McMahan and his wife, Lori, came to a close Saturday with a guilty verdict on three of the eight felony counts. Each will likely to serve time for accepting cash, trips, jewelry, and campaign contributions from Steve Phipps (the Tony Rezko of Oklahoma) in exchange for favorable treatment for Phipps’ businesses from the Auditor’s office.
Amid , McMahan stepped down from office today. Talks of replacement Auditors have been circulating widely throughout the state in the last few weeks, with Gary Jones, Republican Party chairman who lost to McMahan in 2002 and 2006, publicly promoting himself for the appointment.
The has the story:
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Another sad day for Oklahoma with more Phipps-fallout likely to come.
If corruption inspires YOU to get involved with your community’s transparency, please visit to learn how you can help track your tax dollars and hold your officials accountable.
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June 13, 2008 by
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There was more news from the trial of OK state Auditor Jeff McMahan in today’s . McMahan proclaimed his innocence when he took the stand in his own defense yesterday, claiming the FBI agents were not telling the truth.
And add a little thwarting of democracy to the rap sheet:
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Hey, McMahan, even if you close your eyes really tight and say “Sally Jesse Raphael” 40 times backwards, the Feds will still be at your doorstep if you take dirty money. Can someone viagra 25tell me why Oklahoman taxpayers are viagra 25paying this guy’s salary?