Date: March 5, 2010
Contact: Joe Stinebaker
Communications Director
O) 713-755-4027
C) 713-503-2610
Joe.Stinebaker@cjo.hctx.net

NEWS RELEASE

HARRIS COUNTY WINS GOLD LEADERSHIP CIRCLE AWARD FOR FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Award From Texas Comptroller’s Office
Recognizes County’s Perfect Score In Openness and Public Accessibility

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts announced this week that Harris County has won the Gold Leadership Circle Award for its efforts to make its finances open and accessible to all county residents.
In a letter to County Judge Ed Emmett, officials with the Comptroller’s Office congratulated the county for “implementing financial transparency” and for achieving a perfect score of 15 points in the rating criteria. Local governments are judged on their success in opening their books to the public, providing clear, consistent pictures of spending, and sharing information in a user-friendly format that allows taxpayers to access more information.
The Gold Leadership Circle Award is reserved for those local governments “that are setting the bar in their transparency efforts,” according to the Comptroller’s Web site, at www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/checkup/leadership.php.

“The commissioners and I certainly appreciate the Comptroller’s Office’s recognition of the county’s efforts to ensure that our residents have quick and easy access to as much of our financial information as possible,” Emmett said. “We always strive to be as open as possible with county residents. After all, it’s their money, and they have the right to know how it’s being handled.”

In its “Texas Transparency Check-up”, the Comptroller’s office checks to see to what extent local governments provide online access to their budgets, financial reports and check registers. That information, and much more, is contained on Harris County’s Web site at www.hctx.net.