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State launches 'transparency' website

January 10, 2013
Earlier today, Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter and State Controller Brandon D. Woolf jointly announced the launch of Transparent Idaho, the state's new financial transparency website developed by the Controller's Office.

The site, located at http://Transparent.Idaho.gov, includes thousands of downloadable reports that illuminate Idaho's finances for the current and prior fiscal years.

"Both Governor Otter and I believe it's important that Idaho's finances be open for public review," said Controller Woolf. "It's the citizens' government, and the citizens' money. They deserve to know how government spends their tax dollars."

The reports on Transparent Idaho range from broad summaries of state revenues and expenditures with easy to read charts and graphs, to detailed snapshots of agency-level finances. "We built the website to allow users to even download raw data, so they can conduct their own analysis of the state's financial records," explained Controller Woolf. "Data on the website is very current; it's updated nightly."

"I'm exceptionally proud of the work our staff here at the State Controller's Office put into developing Transparent Idaho," said Controller Woolf. His office built the website within their existing budget, requiring no outside resources or new appropriations. Other states have spent millions developing their transparency sites.

"Transparent Idaho is an important first step in making Idaho's finances even more accessible, but there's more to come. We're already working on making additional state financial information available on Transparent Idaho," concluded Controller Woolf.
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