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National Association of State Controllers March 21, 2013. Citizen Transparency Portals 2013 Best Practices and Success Stories. Introduction of Panel. Steve Brooks Managing Director Client Solutions CherryRoad Technologies. Mike Smarik Deputy Comptroller General Accounting Office
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National Association of State ControllersMarch 21, 2013 Citizen Transparency Portals 2013 Best Practices and Success Stories
Introduction of Panel Steve Brooks Managing Director Client Solutions CherryRoad Technologies Mike Smarik Deputy Comptroller General Accounting Office State of Arizona Carol McFarland Director Performance and Efficiency Division Lisa McKeithan Manager Regulatory and Transparency Information Services Division Office of Management and Enterprise Services State of Oklahoma
Objectives of this Session • The State of State Transparency • Best Practices – Recommendations and Achievements • State of Arizona Transparency Status • State of Oklahoma Transparency Status • Panel Discussion – Q & A
Transparency – TheRequirements • Federal Level • Freedom of Information Act – 1966 • Sunshine Act – 1976 • Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency (FFATA) – 2006 • Open Government Directive – 2008 • America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) – 2009 • State Level • State Legislation • Example: • AZ HB2282 – 5/10/2010 • Local Level • State Directives • City/County Government • School Boards
Brief Overview of Evaluative Efforts • Reviewing and evaluating government transparency efforts • Collect, share and evaluate transparency information • Collaborate with individuals and organizations in the cause of an informed citizenry and an accountable government
Brief Overview of Evaluative Efforts • Reviewing and evaluating government transparency efforts • Collect, share and evaluate transparency information • Collaborate with individuals and organizations in the cause of an informed citizenry and an accountable government 2013 Report on March 26
What Has SurfacedAs Best Practices? • NASC • Transparency Committee Work • 2010 • Immunity Language • Website Content Recommendations • Budget Content Information • Retention Period • PIRG • Points of Evaluation • Checkbook-Level Website • Search by Vendor • Search by Keyword or Activity • Search by Agency or Dept • Contract or Summary • Information Available • Historical Expenditures • Tax Expenditure Reports • Grants/Economic Development • Downloadable • Off-budget Agencies • City/County Budgets • ARRA Funding • Feedback • Sunshine Review Points of Evaluation • Budget • Meetings • Elected Officials • Administrative Officials • Permits, Zoning • Audits • Contracts • Lobbying • Public Records • Local Taxes
What Has SurfacedAs Best Practices? • Excellence Noted • Broad and Detailed Spending Information • One-Stop Website • Searchability • Real-time Spending Monitoring • Integration with Local Government Spending Data • Tracking Economic Recovery • Mapping (Geo-spatial) • Removal of Sensitive Information (i.e. HIPAA) • Performance Tracking • Benefits Achieved • Money Saved (through identifying inefficient spending) • Reduction in information requests • Increased awareness of business opportunities (number of bidders for public projects) • Cost savings thru renegotiated contracts
What Has SurfacedAs Best Practices? Early Approaches W E B S I T E External User Financial System HR Systems Other Systems OLTP
What Has SurfacedAs Best Practices? Reference Architecture P O R T A L External User Financial System HR Systems Other Systems Reporting Platform and/or BI Tools Internal User OLTP Warehouse or Data Store Internal User
Transparency Requirements A.R.S. § 41-725: State Governments • Enacted in 2008 • As originally written • By January 1, 2011 • Internet website, downloadable, and searchable by public • All receipts and expenditures • Ten years’ data • Phased approach • Update monthly
Transparency Requirements A.R.S. § 41-725: Local Governments • Same as State Except • By January 1, 2013 • Includes: • School districts with more than 600 students • Counties, cities, or towns with more than 2,500 residents • State universities • Revenues and expenditures greater than $5,000 • Three years’ data • CAFR with GFOA Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting • Update quarterly
Transparency Requirements Include • Manner of payment (warrant, p-card, etc.) • Funding source • Date and amount of payment • Payee name, except as otherwise prohibited • Contract information
Transparency Requirements Exclude! • Confidential Information • Individual tax payments or refunds • Payments of assistance to individuals • Payee addresses and phone numbers • Work product in anticipation of litigation • Information subject to attorney-client confidentiality • Other information designated confidential by law • Sensitive Information • Free-form fields • Judgments – confidential restitution to individuals • Information that may jeopardize law enforcement personnel or operations
Key Transparency Concepts • Information vs. Data • Context • Historical and Factual • Accuracy and Integrity—Speak the Truth • Help Public Understand Government • Organization • Operations • Finances • Continually Manage • Incorporate Best Practices
Design Decisions for State • Display ALL Statewide Revenues and Expenditures • Complete and reconcilable • Confidential transactions displayed with payee name redacted • Payroll displayed as summary data • Only Realized Revenues/Expenditures (no accruals)
Project Approach & Design • Phase I – Completed • Arizona Financial Information System data (AFIS) • Phase II – Ongoing • Purchasing Card and Travel Detail • Phase III – Ongoing • Details from local government's financial systems • Later Phases • Other enhancements
Lessons Learned • Identify barriers to success early • Tough to accomplish • No single statewide system • No data warehouse • Focus on what can be done, not what can’t • Planning is crucial • To the project • To ongoing operations • Manage expectations
More Lessons Learned • Validation and longer than you think • Confidentiality and sensitivity are crucial concepts • A lot of clean-up (acronyms, etc.) needed • Please the critics and you please everyone
The Most Important Lesson: How Transparency Benefits Us All • Enhances • Access to financial information • Reduces • Public Information Requests • Promotes • Efficiency, Effectiveness and Accountability • Provides • An on-line Managerial Tool
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Home Page
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Financial Highlights Page
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Look at Trend Graphs
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov About Arizona Government Page
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Links Page
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov FAQs/Help Page
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Drop-Down Options for Initial Search- LG
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Advanced Search Options
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Clicking on a Transaction will show last pop-up tier. This example shows Vendor Name populated and a Contract #, which links to Procure.az.gov.
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Clicking on a different Transaction shows ‘N/A’ where a Vendor Namewas not available in AFIS for the transaction.
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Clicking on a different Transaction shows ‘Name Redacted’ for the Vendor Name when it is a Confidential transaction.
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov Transaction ID on last pop-up tier corresponds directly to a specific transaction within AFIS (Batch information, Transaction sfx (1), Fiscal Year (2), Fiscal Month (2)).
Arizona’s Official Transparency Website: OpenBooks.az.gov OpenBooks site activity since inception
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services Transparency Initiatives
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services • Transparency Initiatives – 2013 • OST Online Checkbook
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services OST Online Checkbook – Details
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services Performance Metrics – February 2013
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services • Positive Feedback After Initial Deployment • Looks nice, easy to use, etc. • Requests for more ‘types’ of information/more depth • OpenBooks and data.ok.gov – we refer media and other inquiries to this website to save staff time
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services Where Next? • Continuous Improvement Philosophy • OpenBooks • Expand to include more details (OpenBooks – presents data in traditional accounting format and data.ok.gov – raw data for consumption) • Performance and Efficiencies • Add more depth to OKSTATESTAT website • Develop internal performance management process for agencies • Continue to work with agencies to expand the metrics (give them an opportunity to provide information for accurate reporting and interpretation – they are the experts in their field)
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services Where Next? • Hyperion Implementation • Performance based budgeting (performance and metrics/measures will become part of the budgeting process) • Integrate with budgeting and finance
State of Oklahoma - Office of Management & Enterprise Services Long-term View? • Transparency is not going away • Constituency will be more technologically savvy (increased expectations) • Hard to predict – don’t know what technologies will be available in 3 – 5 years • Hyperion implementation will facilitate performance reporting • Proposed Legislation to consolidate Open Records request and make them available online • More ideas for transparency: public, legislature, vendors, executive branch • Public Schools: utilize technology to provide access to expenditure reporting for local schools • Consolidate transparency websites into a single website