State Auditor Kristi Racines and her office are preparing for the launch of a website that will provide easy access to state financial data. The site will include data from 2016 to 2018 when it goes live, and eventually be updated quarterly.
The website - WyOpen.org - will provide information about payments made by state agencies to outside entities.
"Where we started is with expenditures because … what I heard on the campaign trail, what I've heard since we've taken office, is people want to see the checkbook," Racines said. "Essentially, where is the money going?"
She said the data will exclude some expenses deemed confidential, such as victim's compensation payments or salaries. It will not include payments made between state agencies.
"We're putting out there absolutely everything that we can from the checkbook, but there's a lot that we're required to redact before it goes out there," Racines said.
Visitors to the site will not need to log in or otherwise identify themselves, the state auditor added. The information will be searchable, available for download and free.
Racines, who took office earlier this year, ran on a campaign of transparency and has formed a transparency task force with Gov. Mark Gordon.
OpenTheBooks.com, a transparency-focused nonprofit organization, had criticized Racines' predecessor, Cynthia Cloud, for stalling the release of public information and throwing up financial barriers. A lawsuit filed by that group was dismissed shortly after Racines took office in January, releasing six years of financial data just weeks later.
