Visit FloridaOpenGov.org right away, and see how government spends your hard-earned taxes…down to the employee, department and dollar.

Did you know that the highest paid state worker, Frank Brogan, took home more than half a million dollars in salary and benefits in 2010—more than President Obama?

Or that one Miami-Dade County school employee, Alberto Carvalho took home nearly $300,000 in FY 2011 just in salary, and that Lee and Leon Counties have some of the top paid county employees in the state?

Or that the amount the state has paid to Central Florida Behavioral Health skyrocketed 330% in the last six years?

FloridaOpenGov.org has all this information and more; much, much more.

FloridaOpenGov.org includes nearly 35 million records, and more than a decade of government spending information.  The easy-to-use site lets you search government spending by employee name, business, department, municipality, spending category and more, and it’s all just a few clicks away.

FGA CEO Tarren Bragdon unveiled FloridaOpenGov.org at a Statehouse press conference today, Monday, January 9.  With a full house in attendance, Tarren was joined by Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, State Representatives Matt Hudson (R-Naples), Rachel Burgin (R-Tampa Bay) and Joseph Abruzzo (D-Wellington), and City of Longwood Mayor Joe Durso.

Each of them praised FloridaOpenGov.org as a major addition to the state’s transparency movement.

CLICK HERE to see what these and other government and citizen leaders including Governor Rick Scott and Speaker of the House Dean Cannon had to say about FloridaOpenGov.org.

You can also see photos from yesterday’s press conference HERE, and video footage of the event filmed by Sunshine State News HERE.

Here’s what you can access on FloridaOpenGov.org:

•    County government payroll (FY 1997-2011)
•    Local K-12 public education payroll (FY 1997-2011)
•    State government payroll (1995-2010)
•    Local government spending (1993-2010)
•    State vendor payments (FY 2005-2011)

FloridaOpenGov.org is shining the light of transparency on all levels of government.  Visit FloridaOpenGov.org right away.

FloridaOpenGov.org will change all future conversations over government spending.  That’s because this easy-to-use online transparency hub allows citizens and taxpayers to become more informed than ever before.  An informed citizen is strong and powerful.

Visit FloridaOpenGov.org today and learn all there is to know about how government spends your money.  Don’t hesitate to tell your friends and neighbors about FloridaOpenGov.org either.  The more we know, the more accountable our government becomes.

TALLAHASSEE – The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is shining a light on Florida government spending with the largest and most interactive government transparency Web site in the state—FloridaOpenGov.org.  With about 35 million public records detailing nearly $1.4 trillion in spending and payroll by state, county, municipality and school, FloridaOpenGov.org is taxpayers’ online transparency hub for government spending down to the employee, department and dollar.

FloridaOpenGov.org includes 18 years of spending and 15 years of payroll data—all obtained through public records requests—with a simple user-interface allowing visitors to search by employee name, department, salary, county, spending category, year, and more.

“FloridaOpenGov.org is about super sizing taxpayers’ right to know how politicians are spending their money—down to the employee, department and dollar,” explained FGA Chief Executive Officer Tarren Bragdon.

FloridaOpenGov.org includes:

•    County government payroll (FY 1997-2011)
•    Local K-12 public education payroll (FY 1997-2011)
•    State government payroll (1995-2010)
•    Local government spending (FY 1993-2010)
•    State vendor payments (FY 2005-2011)

FGA unveiled FloridaOpenGov.org on Monday at a Statehouse press conference, with a bipartisan group of state and local elected officials.  These officials helped raise awareness about FloridaOpenGov.org and the opportunities it creates for taxpayers to learn more about politicians’ spending decisions.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater praised FloridaOpenGov.org as a powerful new taxpayer tool:

“As an advocate for government transparency, I support all resources both public and private, including FloridaOpenGov.org, that provide taxpayers with the tools to keep tabs on how their dollars are being spent,” he said.

State Representatives Matt Hudson (R-Naples), Rachel Burgin (R-Tampa Bay) and Joseph Abruzzo (D-Wellington) and City of Longwood Mayor Joe Durso also endorsed FloridaOpenGov.org as an important addition to Florida’s government transparency movement.  Other leaders noted the site’s value as well.

At the Capitol, Bragdon highlighted key findings from FloridaOpenGov.org, including the top ten highest paid state government workers (Department of Education employee Frank Brogan is number one), government workers who are members of the $100k salary club, state vendors with the most in government contract and payments, and local spending data.

CLICK HERE to see the PowerPoint presentation shown at Monday’s press conference.

“FloridaOpenGov.org will change all future conversations over government spending.  This easy-to-use online transparency hub allows citizens and taxpayers to become more informed than ever before.  An informed citizen is strong and powerful,” Bragdon said.

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CONTACT
Chris Cinquemani, Vice President
239.244.8808 (o), 207.240.7090 (m), chris@floridafga.org

When it comes to public records laws, FGA’s experiences have been positive.  Most of the officials with whom we have interacted have been timely and professional in complying with our requests, and have demonstrated a sincere respect for citizens’ Right to Know.

But, as the Sunshine Review points out, there is always room for improvement.

A Miami Herald blog yesterday reports that the Sunshine Review has given Florida’s state government Web site, MyFlorida.com, a transparency grade of B.

From the Herald:

In an analysis, the organization praised MyFlorida.com for providing a current state budget along with the governor’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year’ providing state tax information; a full list of current contracts; ethics commission information; annual financial audits, listing elected and administrative officials in respective departments; and providing a database of registered lobbyists.

The site lost points for having a tough-to-navigate search function, not providing information on state-paid lobbying and agency lobbying contracts, and not providing “comprehensive information” for making public records requests.

Frankly, the state deserves to lose a few points.  We the people have a right to know who the state is paying (with our tax dollars) to lobby, and on what issues.  And the state’s site should tell users how to utilize Florida’s public records laws to access public information.  This tool is critical.

The good news?  Florida can raise its grade and improve transparency with a few tweaks and additions to the state site.  It’s worth the effort.  Florida has been a national leader in promoting government transparency and public access.  A transparency grade of B just doesn’t cut it.

Mayor Gimenez is leading by example and being a real leader by making open and accessible what was always the public’s right to know.

I have been particularly impressed with accountability measures imbedded in their communication:

One Department of Financial Services employee’s e-mail signature includes the contact information for his supervisor, should I need it. That’s accountability.

• “It is our job at DFS to provide you with the best customer service possible. If you should have any compliments or concerns regarding the service you have received, feel free to contact my Supervisor, FIRST LAST at (850)XXX-XXXX ~ FIRST.LAST@myfloridacfo.com.”

Another employee at the Department of State tells me to fill out a survey on how effective, efficient and friendly she was.

• “Please take a few minutes to provide feedback on the quality of service you received from our staff. The Florida Department of State values your feedback as a customer. Kurt Browning, Florida Secretary of State, is committed to continuously assessing and improving the level and quality of services provided to you. Simply click on the link to the “DOS Customer Satisfaction Survey. Thank you in advance for your participation.   DOS Customer Satisfaction Survey”

Government isn’t a business; but it should treat taxpayers well.  For those handling many of the public records I request, they do just that.

Thank you.