The City of Sealy earned recognition for the Texas Comptrollers Transparency Stars Program. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar recently announced that the City of Sealy was one of a number of local government entities to achieve specific transparency goals through the Comptroller’s Transparency Stars program. The Transparency Stars program is a state program that recognizes local governments for going above and beyond in their transparency efforts. The program recognizes government entities that accomplish the following:
- open their books not only in their traditional finances, but also in the areas of contracts and procurement, economic development, public pensions and debt obligations.
- provide clear and meaningful financial information not only by posting financial documents, but also through summaries, visualizations, downloadable data and other relevant information.
The things that the comptroller’s office looks for when deciding which local entities make it onto the Transparency Stars program are:
- Dedicated Page or Section of Website – The entity must have a dedicated page or subsection within the finance or transparency section of their website showing how they made efforts to open its books to present information in a user-friendly, understandable format.
- Transparency Area Summary – They must post a summary separately from audits and financial reports and provide citizens with a short list and narrative overview of facts or figures of the entity’s activities in this transparency area.
- Visualizations – Post must have at least two charts or interactive visual tools providing a snapshot of the local government’s activities.
- Documents – They must post documents specific to each transparency area, in addition to the audits and annual financial reports.
- Downloadable Data – They must also make at least two downloadable datasets available.
- Other Information – And, lastly they must make contact information clearly accessible on their websites and must also link their transparency information to the Comptroller of Public Accounts Transparency website.
None of these things would be possible without the City of Sealy’s Finance Department headed by Director Steven Kutra. Congratulations to the City of Sealy for the transparency that is essential for good government to be possible.
**UPDATE** The City of Sealy issued the following press release:
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar recently announced that the City of Sealy was one of a number of local government entities to achieve specific transparency goals through the Comptroller’s Transparency Stars program. The City of Sealy received a star in the area of Traditional Finances, which recognizes entities for their outstanding efforts in making their spending and revenue information available.
Transparency Stars recognizes local government entities that provide easy online access to important financial data.
“By providing meaningful financial data in addition to visual tools and analysis of its revenues and expenditures, the City of Sealy has shown a true commitment to Texas taxpayers. This effort achieves the goals set by my office’s Transparency Stars program,” Hegar said. “I am pleased to award the City of Sealy a star for its accomplishments.”
The Comptroller’s office launched the Transparency Stars program in March 2016 to recognize cities, counties and school districts making important strides to greater government transparency. Local government entities can apply for stars in the areas of:
- Traditional Finances,
- Contracts and Procurement,
- Economic Development,
- Public Pensions, and
- Debt Obligations.
After receiving an initial star for Traditional Finances, remaining stars may be awarded in any order. For more information on the program, including specific guidelines and information on how to apply, visit the Comptroller’s Transparency Stars website at https://www.comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/local/stars/.
In addition, the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the City of Sealy by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
An Award of Financial Reporting Achievement has been awarded to the individual(s), department or agency designated by the government as primarily responsible for preparing the award-winning CAFR. This has been presented to Steven W. Kutra, Director of Finance.
The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C.