Gov. Blunt's Accountability Portal Exceeds 14 Million Hits

Press Release

Gov. Blunt's Accountability Portal Exceeds 14 Million Hits

Gov. Matt Blunt's highly successful initiative opening the state's checkbook online has reached the 14 million hit mark as Missourians continue to use the Missouri Accountability Portal to find valuable information about how the state spends their tax dollars.

"Missourians continue to log on to the Missouri Accountability Portal to map how their hard earned tax dollars are being spent," Gov. Blunt said. "With our creation of the MAP portal we have opened up the state's checkbook for all to see so Missourians can track every dollar spent and hold their elected representatives accountable for their spending choices."

The governor's MAP Internet site enables Missourians to track tax dollars in near real-time. Since launching the new Internet site last year there have been 14,005,340 hits to the MAP site at http://mapyourtaxes.mo.gov.

The MAP site is one of the first comprehensive databases of financial records based on real-time data in the nation and has become a national model for government transparency. The MAP site is updated at the close of each business day to provide up-to-date access to information about state spending. Anyone can search the MAP site by budget category, vendor or contract. Links to other public information maintained by the state are also available on the MAP site. The MAP expenditure site has also been enhanced to allow Missourians to review state expenditures by state agency and information regarding tax credits administered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development since tax credit application year 2000. The site also provides easy to access, real-time information on state employee salaries.

Americans for Tax Reform, a leading taxpayer watchdog group lauded Gov. Blunt for creating the Internet site. "Gov. Blunt is one of the first governors to enable taxpayers to become fiscal watchdogs, and I commend him for taking this step towards greater fiscal transparency," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

The team that developed Gov. Blunt's initiative and enacted his vision for the MAP portal earned national recognition with an American Business Award. The Information Technology Services Division (ITSD) Team won the Best MIS and IT Team Category for the development of MapYourTaxes.mo.gov at the 2008 American Business Awards. The American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing awards program honoring great performances in business.

Missourians who find troublesome or questionable spending can call a variety of people including state legislators, relevant agencies, the governor's office or call 573-751-1506.

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