Treasurer Don Stenberg, right, with John S. McCollister, executive director of the Platte Institute, following Thursday’s news conference. McCollister praised Treasurer Stenberg’s work to promote government transparency on the NebraskaSpending.gov website. Stenberg said the improvement announced Thursday grew out of recommendations from the Platte Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit think tank headquartered in Omaha.

State Treasurer Don Stenberg announced today that the NebraskaSpending.gov website is now being updated with state spending information monthly instead of annually, as had been the past practice.

The NebraskaSpending.gov website provides financial information about state government receipts and expenditures and, by law, is maintained by the State Treasurer’s Office.

“Since I took office in January, I have focused on changes to the NebraskaSpending.gov website to provide more timely information to Nebraska taxpayers and to make the website easier to use,” State Treasurer Stenberg said at a news conference Thursday in his Capitol office.

“Since the NebraskaSpending.gov website was instituted several years ago, the only spending information available on it was for previous fiscal years. You could not, for instance, go to the website and find out how much the Department of Roads has spent in the current fiscal year. Now, taxpayers will be able to find that information on the NebraskaSpending.gov website,” Stenberg said.

“We have also made a number of technical changes that will make the website easier to use and to understand,” Stenberg said. These changes include the following:

• Reworded navigation tabs on the Home Page to more clearly and concisely explain the information found by clicking on those tabs
• Removed confusing, outdated, and redundant language on the Home Page
• Provided more links to help users navigate through the information and find related information
• Updated information and added bar graphs showing 10 years of historical data by fund type and major account category at the Historical Expenditures Tab
• Combined School and Local Budgets with links to more information on the Auditor of Public Accounts website at www.auditors.state.ne.us
• Provided a link to the Nebraska Investment Council website at www.nic.ne.gov
• Replaced a confusing bar graph with an easy-to-read data table on the Current Fiscal Year Budget Tab
• Provided links to each campus of the University of Nebraska system and to the University of Nebraska budget on the University of Nebraska Tab
• Created a link to a Glossary for an updated definition of terms

“As State Treasurer, I am committed to making as much state financial information as possible available to Nebraskans,” Stenberg said. The NebraskaSpending.gov website is a wealth of accurate, detailed, and relevant information that provides perspective and accountability, he said.

“We are making every effort to present information on the website in as simple - to-use manner as possible,” Stenberg said.

Stenberg said the improvements reflect his commitment to open government and to making access to state financial records easier for taxpayers. In March he asked the public and the news media to share suggestions for how the NebraskaSpending.gov website could be improved and made easier to use. He also asked for suggestions regarding additional information the public would like to see on the website.

He repeated his request for public input at the news conference Thursday, saying that if the state is to be truly successful in bringing greater transparency to state government, it will have to be a collective effort. “We encourage you to contact us with your thoughts and ideas as to how we can improve this site,” he said.

“Our next major project will be to include state contracts on the website. Because this project is just beginning, we do not yet have a clear idea of when we will be able to put that information on the website, but we want to move forward as quickly as possible,” Stenberg said.

News release courtesy Nebraska Radio Network

News release courtesy www.1011Now.com