CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia State Auditor’s Office will unveil its new transparency website Monday, which will allow visitors to monitor how tax dollars are being spent.
Auditor J.B. McCuskey is scheduled to unveil the website at 9 a.m. at the Holiday Inn in Martinsburg, and will host a training workshop on using the site beginning at 3 p.m. in Charleston at the State Auditor’s Office in the Capitol building.
McCuskey said during a recent appearance on MetroNews “Talkline” the website is for three purposes: to give the public the same information the government has, provide reporters with the best access to information and help legislators create a budget using accurate spending numbers.
“It’s like a Google search environment,” he said of the website. “Whatever pops into your head, you can start looking at these numbers. They’re all pretty fascinating, the amount of money we spend on things is crazy. I think it is, and I know after people get to use the website, they’ll be able to use it as easily as we do.”
State agencies provide spending information to the auditor’s office, which McCuskey said has created some hurdles.
“We have disparate ways in which the agencies report their information to us,” he said. “We’re working with the Legislature right now on a bill to streamline the way the information is given to us so that our website can be the most accurate possible.”
Technology firm OpenGov is assisting the auditor’s office in creating the website. According to its website, OpenGov has helped 1,800 state agencies nationwide launch web pages focused on providing information to the public.