Howard residents might soon have the details of county spending at their fingertips.
Under a proposal from County Councilman Greg Fox, R-District 5, county contracts, grants and loans of at least $30,000 would be posted on a searchable Web site.
Fox called the measure “another move toward transparency” to make it easier for residents to track the county?s major expenditures.
The Web site would include the amount and purpose of the
award, the name of the recipient and the funding source in the county, among other relevant information, according to the
bill.
The proposal, co-sponsored by Council Chairwoman Courtney Watson, D-District 1, was modeled on a state measure championed by Howard Republican Del. Warren Miller.
“People don?t know how their money is being spent by the government,” said Miller, adding his measure is gaining support.
Miller?s proposal would include details on expenditures of more than $25,000.
Miller said state officials are making an effort to better compile and manage information through the StateStat program, so they can also look at collecting information on state spending.
“It doesn?t take a lot of work,” Miller said.
Anne Arundel County Councilman Jamie Benoit, D-District 4, said he plans to soon introduce a similar measure for county expenditures, listing the name and address of the companies, the services provided and the amount of the contract.
“I think the public ought to be able to see in the sock drawers of the government,” he said.
Howard?s purchasing information is housed in several databases from agencies in county government, all of which collect different levels of detail, said Technology Chief Ira Levy.
To have an easily searchable database, officials would first have to build a data warehouse that
brings the information together and then create an interface for the public to access the information, he said.
“It would be a significant undertaking,” Levy said.
Howard is in the midst of major technology upgrades, including developing a data warehouse, that might make the site possible. That system should be available in the next 18 months to two years, Levy said.
