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Funds OK'd for online checkbook initiative
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
A panel of lawmakers approved up to $2.7 million in spending by the state treasurer’s office to pay for efforts to post details of local governments’ checkbooks in a publicly accessible online database.
The Controlling Board approved the request from Republican Josh Mandel’s office for up to $1.3 million in spending authority during the current fiscal year and $1.4 million-plus in fiscal 2017 toward the online checkbook efforts.
The funds would go to OpenGov, a California company contracted to complete the work.
Deputy Treasurer Seth Metcalf, appearing before lawmakers to answer questions, said the ultimate cost of the initiative will be determined once the office knows how many local governments commit to participating. The maximum totals approved Monday would cover all 4,000-plus local government offices, he told the board.
Chris Berry, Mandel’s spokesman, said 241 local governments already have said they would post their checkbook information online, and another 336 are in discussions with the treasurer’s office.
Late last year, Mandel launched OhioCheckbook.com, a website that enables searches of spending by state offices. Users can search the site by individual or company name or agency for checks issued since fiscal 2008. A “popular searches” feature allows review of spending for travel, food, lottery prizes, sick leave and other areas.
Earlier this year, Mandel sent letters to school districts, counties, townships and other local governments inviting them to post their checkbook information online, too.
The Controlling Board approval came after a few questions from lawmakers, who were amenable to efforts to provide more information about state and local spending to the public but curious about the cost and approach.
Sen. Tom Sawyer, D-Akron, questioned the decision to hire an outside firm to do the work, rather than completing the task within the treasurer’s office, as was done with the state checkbook.
Metcalf responded, “The treasurer’s office is 120 people. ... And while we were able to place the state’s checkbook online ... with there being over 4,000 local governments in the state of Ohio, we needed more manpower.”