UTAH'S TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE: 40% LESS COSTLY THAN EXPECTED - Sutherland Institute

UTAH'S TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE: 40% LESS COSTLY THAN EXPECTED

We commend the managers and staff of the Utah Division of Finance for adjusting their many priorities in order to make Utah's public finance website, www.transparent.utah.gov, a reality - on time, and at relatively low cost - and we congratulate them for a job very well done.

The total cost, to date, to launch this outstanding citizen resource is $283,251, which is 41 percent less than the projected price tag for the current fiscal year: $480,400. The preliminary cost estimate - a fiscal note attached to the legislation that created the website - cited hardware, software, and personnel hours as the source of the costs. The State Division of Finance, however, was able to stay below the original estimate by purchasing less expensive hardware and by using current staff for the website project, rather than hiring new employees.

Sutherland encourages responsible citizens to email the Director of the Division of Finance, John Reidhead (jreidhead@utah.gov), and express their appreciation for making the implementation of government transparency a priority.

Sutherland also encourages citizens to begin using this vital new tool, as public use of the information now readily and conveniently available through the website is essential to the success of transparency, as well as for the preservation of our liberty and representative government.

(See original posting)