Photo via Town of Westlake Facebook page
Opening financial books to the public, providing clear and consistentbrpictures of spending, and sharing information with taxpayers in a user-friendlybrformat are some of the reasons the Town of Westlake was one of the first fourbrcities to recently earn the prestigious 2016 Texas Comptroller's TransparencybrStar for Traditional Finances. Other inaugural municipalities receiving thisbraward include the cities of Carrollton, Andrews, and Abernathy and others havebrnow followed suit.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts originally launched thebrLeadership Circle Program to recognize local governments across Texas thatbrstrived to meet a high standard for financial transparency online. The Town ofbrWestlake received this award in March 2014 and March 2015. However, in Januarybrthe program was discontinued and replaced with the Transparency Stars Program,bra more rigorous program recognizing local governments for going above andbrbeyond in their transparency efforts.
The program recognizes government entities that not only open theirbrbooks in traditional finances, but also in the areas of contracts andbrprocurement, economic development, public pensions and debt obligations.brEntities also must provide clear and meaningful financial information bybrposting financial documents with summaries, visualizations, and downloadablebrdata.
Receiving this award aligns well with several of the Town's valuebrstatements of being fiscally responsible and operating a transparent,brintegrity-driven government.
“The Town of Westlake strives to place an emphasis on transparency,”brsaid Debbie Piper, director of finance. “It is our commitment that the Town ofbrWestlake's financial information is readily accessible and available for ourbrcitizens.”