A study by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy looked at all of Virginia’s 134 localities in an effort to define baseline transparency standards that enable citizens to easily access public information on government spending.
Most of the jurisdictions, which were graded on a 100-point scale, were rated “dismal” for their transparency efforts. The highest grade of 80 points went to Arlington County, which was favorably cited for including context on its budget page. Fairfax County’s easy-to-find budget page helped it place second with 77.5 points, and Prince William brought home the bronze with 67 points.
Significantly, Goochland County – which is located between Richmond and Charlottesville – is the only county in the commonwealth to post its full check register online every month, enabling taxpayers to track county expenditures. Why isn’t every town, city and county in the commonwealth doing this?
When the highest score in the entire state is a mediocre “C”Gooch and only one in 134 jurisdictions posts its checkbook online, the push for full transparency in Virginia still has a long ways to go.
