Who can resist a peek inside a checkbook? Just imagine what you could learn: how much spent on groceries, entertainment, that reprobate relative, tradesmen, church and charities, etc., as well as deposits both regular and irregular — all witness to the holder’s personal level of affluence or indigence.
Now translate that curiosity to state and local government and you have the “open checkbook” concept — short for government spending transparency — showing how taxpayer dollars are being spent, right down to the checks being cut. For example, know someone who works for the state of Massachusetts? His or her salary is no secret to anyone who logs onto the commonwealth’s online Financial Records Transparency Platform, launched in 2011. Such websites are popular, and not just with reporters. Anyone curious about how their tax dollars are being spent are drawn to websites that purport to show exactly that. A 2018 report by the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group found that such websites were consulted by 1.5 million users nationwide in 2017.
Greenfield added its own Open Checkbook to the city’s website in 2016 to allow residents to see how much the city is spending and on what. “This is all part of our ongoing effort to be transparent and responsive to the community,” said Mayor William Martin at the time.
Now Orange is being challenged by residents Laurie and Victor MacDonald to put its expense reports — its general ledgers — online each month. “Why not do this?” said Victor MacDonald. “We should be entitled to see what the town is spending. It’s our money.” The MacDonalds collected enough signatures to present a petition to Selectboard members.
There are pros and cons to putting the town’s checkbook online. Selectman Bill Wrigley contended that Town Hall staff would be plied with questions from residents trying to understand complicated expense reports. Selectboard Vice Chairwoman Jane Peirce foresees “a wonderful opportunity for misinformation and misinterpretation and bad information to get out there.” Another concern, voiced by Town Administrator Gabe Voelker, is the amount of time it would take staffers to redact sensitive information to protect people’s anonymity.
On the other hand, Voelker said, “It’s easy enough to do,” given that the town would be able to use the same brand of computer software already in use to put the expense reports online, at no additional cost. Neighboring Phillipston made the move last year. Laurie MacDonald said she thinks the “open checkbook” would actually save time rather than waste it, since it would give both citizens and town departments easy access to the town’s monthly expenses. “It’s not just for the citizens, it’s for the departments.”
This paper supports so-called “sunshine laws” making meetings, records, votes, deliberations and other officials’ actions available for public inspection. In the same vein, we support transparency in government, including the “open checkbook.”
Apropos of the MacDonalds’ petition effort is the fact that the Orange Finance Committee is weighing another Proposition 2½ tax override to make up for an approximately $730,000 gap in funding for town departments. When it comes to Prop. 2½ overrides in Orange, history is not encouraging. Four times since 2003, residents have been faced with a potential tax override and four times they have voted “No.” Maybe a look at the nitty-gritty spending details would help convince residents to back the next override.