Gov. Bob Riley has set a precedent we hope other elected officials will follow.
Tuesday he signed legislation that requires Alabama governors to report details of all expenditures from the state’s contingency fund and use of official state aircraft. The documented information shows accountability and gives the public complete details how these dollars and cents, which are ultimately their tax dollars, are being spent. It also provides detailed information where the governor traveled and the purpose for the trip.
Surely, an Alabama governor wouldn’t fly around recklessly on the public dime … right? Actually, we’ve been there, done that.
The public can log on to the Internet (http://governor.alabama.gov/yourgov/disclosure.aspx) and learn how much money was spent last month on the governor’s mansion alarm system or that his office spent $277.17 for pool supplies and $650.24 for cell phone service for his staff.
Citizens can also learn that Riley flew to Albertville on Feb. 4 to attend former Gov. Guy Hunt’s funeral, flew to Washington D.C. on Feb. 12 to speak with the Alabama Congressional delegation and to Huntsville March 17 for a meeting with the city’s Rotary Club.
“I’ve never understood how past governors could say taxpayers have no business knowing how taxpayer dollars are being spent,” said Riley, who had already been documenting such information for the public since becoming governor in 2003.
“State government should be open, accessible and accountable to the citizens it serves, and voluntarily posting this information on the Internet is, in my opinion, a huge step toward achieving that goal.”
Open. Accessible. Accountable.
Now that’s a novel concept. After all, this is the people’s government and it makes perfect sense that the people have every opportunity to see how their governor is spending their dollars.
Too bad a majority of legislators don’t share this view. If they did, PAC-to-PAC transfers, where campaign finance exchanges are masked, would have been banned long ago. But legislators didn’t have a problem backing a bill that demands transparency from the governor’s finances. It’s also too bad lawmakers won’t back legislation that toughen ethics laws for state officials. Why we wouldn’t want a more ethical government running our state is beyond explanation.
We need an open, honest government, and it apparently has started at the top.
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