Why is this important? Do other cities have open government policies?
Open records requests have been a hot topic lately. Alabama has had one of the worst transparency laws in the country, but some cities go above and beyond current legal requirements to accommodate citizen requests. You will see below that the State of Alabama has opened its checkbook, and within the last two years Birmingham, Hoover, and Montgomery have also opened their checkbooks, giving citizens self-serving online capabilities. We did find many exciting (to us) examples of transparency in other states and have listed a few below for you to see how Homewood, with just a few changes, could allow citizens to be better informed with easier access to public records. Also included below are links to the theory behind open government and recent articles regarding changes to open government, records, and other ethics laws moving through the Alabama Legislature during this current session.
Other Calls for Transparency
How Others Are "Showing the Money"
Los Angeles "Data Cards" Why they spent 130K on frozen rats
Sunlight Foundation - Opening the Municipal Checkbooks
Making Government and Politics More Transparent for All
Great example of an Open Checkbook.
"Our checkbook contains a searchable database of unaudited expenditures by category, payee and agency."
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Financial Transparency for Colorado Schools
Here you will find revenue and expenditure information for each school, district, and BOCES throughout the state.
ClearGov.com has helped this city have a Transparency Portal with a financial overview, revenues, expenditures, and debt. All with drill down capability.