Local lawmakers support posting of taxpayer-paid expenditures
Local lawmakers are on board with a proposal from the state’s auditor general to post their expenditures online for constituents to view.
Recently, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced that he had posted the department’s expenses online and urged other departments and the General Assembly to do likewise.
“As the Pennsylvania’s fiscal watchdog, the Department of the Auditor General should be held up to the same level of public scrutiny and accountability I expect of the government organizations we audit,” said DePasquale. “The public has a right to know how government is spending tax dollars, so I strongly encourage all branches of government to endorse transparency and accountability and post expenses online.”
State Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township, and his fellow state House Reps. Matt Dowling, R-Uniontown, Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, and Ryan Warner, R-Perryopolis, said transparency in government is crucial and an action they embrace.
Stefano said the issue of transparency has remained a focal point for him since elected to office and the posting of expenditures has his support.
“I believe in transparency in government,” he said, noting his recent legislation that includes allowing taxpayers to view collective bargaining agreements for government and public school employees and negotiated contracts for school district superintendents and principals that call for a time for review before action is taken by an entity. “Opening these processes to the public will ensure that negotiations are done fairly and in the best interest of taxpayers.”
Likewise, is allowing those same taxpayers to view the expenditures of their elected officials, added Stefano.
“We are discussing utilizing available websites to post the expenses,” he said, adding that he is reimbursed for actual expenses and does not accept the daily per diem.
Snyder agreed.
“The taxpayers have every right to know their money is being used in a responsible manner to carry out the functions of government,” she said. “I support any measures that will give people more assurance their money is being used wisely.”
In addition to the $86,478 rank-and-file member salary, the state law allows a daily allocation of $179 for out-of-pocket expenditures or the submission of receipts for reimbursement.
Dowling said he is an advocate for posting of expenses on a “regular basis.”
“I ran on the issue of transparency of legislator expenses,” he said, adding that following the Herald-Standard inquiry he has begun to compile the data to post on his House website at www.RepDowling.com.
Dowling said he has opted to submit actual expense vouchers and through June 1 has spent $2,132 on hotel stays and $342 for meals while in Harrisburg.
If he had chosen to accept the per diem rate — that does not require the submission of receipts — the amount would total $4,654, he added.
“Not only does the actual expense method provide transparency, but it also saves money, nearly $2,180 in five months,” said Dowling. “I would have no problem sharing these expenses with the taxpayers.
“In fact, I think they have the right to know.”
Warner, too, is an advocate for transparency.
“I think openness and transparency in government is always a good thing,” he said.
Warner said he also believes taxpayers should be cognizant as to whether lawmakers are availing themselves of the per diems or are turning in receipts to recoup costs.
“(The posting) would show how much taxpayer money is saved using actual expenses,” he said.
Warner does not accept the daily per diem.
DePasquale, meanwhile, said his request to lawmakers came after the General Assembly delayed in responding to his offer to audit its operations.
Currently, a Right To Know request must be submitted to access the expense figures of lawmakers.
“A simple posting of the (General Assembly’s) spending records would go a long way to help improve the public’s ability to learn how their tax dollars are spent,” he said.
His department’s expense posting includes employee healthcare, information technology, pension, salaries, travel, worker’s compensation and other costs.
DePasquale also has posted his travel expenses for the year.
Snyder, meanwhile, said an audit of the legislative funds is done annually and questions whether the state constitution provides for the executive branch to audit legislative funds.
“I would need assurance that it does not violate the separation of powers clause under the constitution,” she said.
Stefano said because an audit is routinely done, one by the auditor general’s office would be “duplicative.”
“I would be concerned, too, about the interaction of the different government branches,” he said.
Warner said he favors “all branches and agencies in government being open to an audit,” while Dowling said he would support individual audits.
“If the offer to audit travel and office expenses was made to specific members rather than the assembly as a whole, I would comply,” he said.