In a Manhattan Minute

Supporting Open Government with TranspareNYC:

March 11-17th is Sunshine Week, an annual initiative to promote open government and freedom of information. As a strong proponent of government transparency, I’m proud to support this effort.

On Friday, two days before the start of Sunshine Week, my office launched Budget TranspareNYC. TranspareNYC is an online initiative to promote greater openness and accountability in the City’s budget process and to give New Yorkers a stronger voice in how the government spends their hard-earned tax dollars. The centerpiece of this initiative is my office’s Community Grant reform process. For the first time, the decision-making authority for these allocations will be made by independent panels comprised of experts, community members and City Council representatives.

In addition to explaining this reformed Community Grant process, the TranspareNYC website also provides data and educational materials from my office, other elected officials’ offices and government agencies, and good government groups. The TranspareNYC website includes a Tax Receipt Calculator that shows New Yorkers where their tax dollars go, a City Budget 101 crash course from the Independent Budget Office, and a comprehensive list of online resources detailing spending on the city, state and federal levels.

You can read more about Budget TranspareNYC in this Daily News op-ed.

At a time when every tax dollar is precious and middle class families across our city are struggling to make ends meet, New York has a responsibility to bring sunlight to the budget process and make it as transparent and equitable as possible. It’s time to stop talking about budget reform and take action that makes it a reality.