City of Phoenix gets a 'D' for spending transparency
The public interest group says the City of Phoenix is not open enough about how it spends taxpayer money. The group released a report Wednesday that gave Phoenix a below-average rating.
NADINE ARROYO RODRIGUEZ: The Arizona Public Interest Research Group, known as PIRG, gave the city of Phoenix a ‘D’ for spending transparency. The organization reviewed how 30 large cities gave the public access to information on budgets, grants, subsidies, contracting and service requests. PIRG’s Serena Unrein says the report shows Phoenix lags behind most other major cities because it does not offer enough financial data on its website.
SERENA UNREIN: Transparency promotes fiscal responsibility, bolsters public confidence in government and checks corruption. So, residents should publicly look at the government revenues and expenditures in an online, easily accessible website.
ARROYO RODRIGUEZ: The City of Phoenix responded to the report with examples of its efforts to be transparent. In a statement the city said information on budget can be found on its web page and that it has a long record of holding community budget hearings every year.
