Augusta, Maine - Governor Paul R. LePage has launched the State of Maine’s new financial transparency website providing Mainers access to basic, easy to understand information regarding state finances and government spending.
The Governor announced the new website in his State of the State address Tuesday night.
“Open Checkbook gives Mainers information about how their hard-earned taxpayer dollars are used by government by taking budget data out of government file cabinets and making it available to the public for the first time in an easy-to-access way,” Governor LePage said.
Through the new Maine Open Checkbook website, individuals will initially be able to research the details of state expenditures, including vendor payments and employee compensation. Next year the State plans to expand the service to include revenue data and other detail related to expenses. Future enhancements are planned to include expanded analytics with graphs and comparative reports.
“The public has a right to view, understand, and track how their tax dollars are being spent,” said State Controller, Terry Brann. “This website is a big step forward for the State of Maine. It provides clear, comprehensive information and puts it in the hands of our citizens.”
Maine Open Checkbook is built on more than 5 million data records. The site is designed to allow users to easily find the information they need using various search criteria. Organization, vendor / employee, fund type, category, or any combination of the four can sort financial data results.
Details surrounding vendor payments will be uploaded to the website every month and employee compensation, including salary information and benefits, will be updated on an annual basis.
The new website (http://www.maine.gov/opencheckbook) was developed at no cost to Maine taxpayers and was created by the Maine State Controllers Office, in partnership with the state’s e-government portal provider, InforME.
For more information regarding this website or its content please contact the Maine State Controllers Office at 207-626-8420 or at http://www.maine.gov/osc/contactus.shtml
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