State Treasurer Eric Schmitt unveils online 'checkbook' of Missouri finances

Missouri State Treasurer Eric Schmitt has unveiled a new website designed to make it easier for Missourians to see how their tax dollars are being spent.

The treasurer�s office launched Show-Me Checkbook last week.

During a stop Tuesday in Cape Girardeau to tout the site, Schmitt said the goal is to provide the public with easy-to-access information about every financial aspect of state government from revenue and expenditures to debt and cash flow.

Schmitt said the site includes easy-to-read charts and graphs. It also allows the public to look up the individual budgets of state departments and the salaries of state employees, he said.

�We think it will be a gold standard for a lot of states,� said Schmitt, while acknowledging Ohio has been at the forefront of posting state finances online.

The website has more than 20 million individual data points, making it one of the most comprehensive state government financial portals in the nation, according to Schmitt.

He said his office staff developed the site.

The new website replaces the Missouri Accountability Portal created in 2007. Schmitt said the portal had become outdated and needed to be replaced.

Schmitt said additional information can be added as needed. The site encourages the public to offer suggestions online.

�This is a conversation with taxpayers,� he told the Southeast Missourian.

Before creation of the new website, state financial data often was difficult to access or analyze, Schmitt said. Missouri received a D+ grade for financial transparency from the Public Interest Research Group in April.

Schmitt said he believes the site, www.ShowMeCheckbook.mo.gov, could boost public trust in state government.

The site shows $6 billion in pension obligations for state workers, which represents the state�s largest liability, Schmitt said.

The pension system is 60 percent funded, but changes have been made in management of the pension plan to address the situation, the state treasurer said.

�We have a pension crisis at our doorstep,� Schmitt said. But he added �we can get in front of it.�

Missouri does not want to have the pension problems faced in Illinois, he said.

The goal in Missouri is to operate a financially sound pension system to avoid burdening taxpayers, Schmitt said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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