Finance and Administration Cabinet
Beshear Administration's nationally top-ranked e-transparency site continues to improve

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Beshear Administration's nationally top-ranked e-transparency site continues to improve

Kentucky's Open Door, Version 3.0, to be launched via webinar next Wednesday

 FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 21, 2010) – Gov. Steve Beshear’s groundbreaking e-transparency website, Kentucky’s Open Door, online at www.OpenDoor.ky.gov, has twice received recognition for being a national leader in transparency and accountability for the tracking of state spending. Gov. Beshear today announced even more upgrades and improvements to the site, including more interactive details for the state’s budget and adding more databases and categories of spending information.

“I am very proud of the success and national attention Kentucky continues to receive for e-transparency as my administration strives to make government more accountable and open to the public,” said Gov. Beshear. “Upgrades to Open Door will be an ongoing effort, enhanced by new technology and resources, to put our checkbooks online for public view to reassure citizens their tax dollars are being used efficiently and responsibly.”

This marks the third time Kentucky’s Open Door has been updated with significant improvements since it was first launched Jan. 1, 2009.  In spring 2008, Gov. Beshear issued an Executive Order establishing the e-Transparency Task Force; a 14-member bipartisan panel charged with providing a more transparent, accountable state government.  Kentucky’s Open Door was launched after a concerted, multi-agency effort, led by officials of the Finance and Administration Cabinet.

Kentucky’s Open Door, Version 3.0 includes the following upgrades:

• A new searchable database of state-owned/leased property;
• A new searchable database of Kentucky’s  elected officials at every level of state and federal government;
•  “Drillable” details on the current budget with interactive graphs;
• An interactive budget timeline and list of important state financial documents;
• An interactive listing of all taxes and fees in Kentucky; and
• An interactive listing of data sources and maps for demographic data.

 “Many people have worked tirelessly to help make Kentucky’s Open Door a nationwide role model for transparency in government, but this success has only inspired us to work harder to constantly improve the site,” stated Finance and Administration Secretary Jonathan Miller, who chaired the Governor’s e-Transparency Task Force.  “We will continue to set the pace for e-transparency and, as always, welcome any public recommendations to make the site even more thorough and user friendly.”

On Wednesday, July 28 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time, Sec. Miller will be hosting a live demonstration of the new, updated Open Door site on the Internet, in a “webinar” format, allowing members of the public to participate and submit questions from their computer terminals.

To join the webinar, go to https://webconferencing.avaya.com/invite/170553/865196/en/Avaya. 

To join by phone, dial 1-720-356-2070 and enter Participant Security Code 865196  when prompted.

In a report published on June 2, 2010 by The Center for Study of Responsive Law, a nonprofit organization that researches government and corporate accountability, Kentucky was recognized as a national leader for transparency in state contracts for publishing the full text of state contracts.

Kentucky is a leader in its transparency efforts for the reporting of both the distribution of stimulus funds and state government spending.  In April 2010, Kentucky was the only state in the nation to receive an ‘A’ rating for openness in government spending in a report issued by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

Similar to Open Door, the Commonwealth’s stimulus spending site, Kentucky at Work, online at http://kentuckyatwork.ky.gov, received national attention in January 2009.  In a report issued by Good Jobs First, a national policy resource center, Kentucky was recognized for receiving the second highest rating nationally for accountability to taxpayers.

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