Tell public how money is spent

Charleston and Dorchester county officials seem to understand something that all public officials ought to acknowledge: It's the people's money.

Both counties are to be commended for recognizing that their citizens have a right to see how their money is being spent.

Soon, Charleston and Dorchester counties will post online detailed information about their expenditures. It will be easy for the general public to access, and it will be in a format that people will find useful.

We don't anticipate that information about Lowcountry spending will resemble information the British recently discovered. Members of Parliament had been reimbursed for a wide range of items and services including chandeliers, moat maintenance, horse manure and even pornography.

But it does stand to reason that public officials will be extra careful in spending the people's money if they know that taxpayers will be able to scrutinize each expense.

Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom has already helped shepherd state agencies and Cabinet staff to post their spending on his Website, http://www.cg.sc.gov/transparency/. Some officials resisted at first, saying it would take too much time and money to set up the site and maintain it. The system, however, seems to be working smoothly.

Now, Mr. Eckstrom is seeing local governments drag their feet for similar reasons. Indeed, Berkeley County's deputy supervisor Chip Boling told our reporter Dave Munday that the county considered posting their expenditures on the comptroller's Website but decided it would cost too much.

That's too bad. Anderson County has found a way to opt in, and its information has been posted. So have the cities of Aiken and Cayce and the towns of Turbeville and Irmo. Irmo officials said the process wasn't as costly nor as burdensome as they had expected.

Mr. Boling pointed out that information about Berkeley County spending is already available. The same could be said for all counties. But it isn't always available in a form or in a place that the general public finds useful.

Mr. Eckstrom said, "Charleston County and Dorchester County ... are truly pioneers, helping usher in a new era of government transparency."

Taxpayers should insist that public officials post expenses.

Money is tight these days. Very tight. The public has a right to know how their money is being spent and to be satisfied that it's being spent appropriately.