Pub. 6 2016-2017 Issue 1

19 votes were cast. Formal actions of the governing board should never be taken without adequate notice or a permanent record of the actions or proceedings. The “Public Meeting Notice” website (pmn.utah.gov) is the mechanism that has been developed to serve as a convenient tool for citizens to receive notices of upcoming meetings and to review the minutes and recording from previous meetings. Charter schools are required to post to this site. ACCESS TO RECORDS Public access to information and documents is a key tenant of transparency. The Government Records Access andManagement Act (GRAMA) is a state law that requires public access to existing records. The access must be reasonable in both cost and time. Though certain records may be private or protected to safeguard sensitive information about students or pending legal proceedings, the remaining records (or portions of records) must be made avail- able for public inspection and access. Many organizations fail to understand that information in their accounting systems are public records. Also, as a best practice, charter schools may proactively publish many documents online that do not need to be protected, allowing citizens to easily access and review documents without requiring staff time to service information requests. BUDGETING – THE SPENDING PLAN A budget clearly communicates and sets limits for how public funds will be spent. Before the beginning of each fiscal year, a budget must be developed and presented as the proposed plan for spending public funds. The timing of the proposed budget allows the public an opportunity to respond to the spending plan and provides the governing board time tomake adjustments prior to the start of the fiscal year. Once the budget is adopted, it sets spending limits that may not be exceeded without formally amending the budget through the public-notice process. Adopted budgets of all local governments and charter schools are available on the State Auditor’s website (auditor.utah.gov). END-OF-YEAR FINANCIAL REPORTING – HOW THE MONEY WAS SPENT Publishing standardized, end-of-year financial reports provides transparency and accountability for how public funds were spent. Charter schools are required to submit an annual financial report to the State Auditor as well as the State Board of Education. Financial reports of all local governments and charter schools are available on the State Auditor’s website (auditor.utah.gov). UTAH PUBLIC FINANCE WEBSITE – THE OPEN CHECKBOOK Transaction-level transparency has become the new standard for financial reporting across the nation. In 2008, Senate President Niederhauser and I (while serving in the House of Representatives) sponsored a bill that required certain public entities to upload their financial revenue and expense transaction information to a publicly-searchable database. This essentially opens an organiza- tion’s checkbook, allowing the public to identify where their money goes and who receives it. Technology has allowed for the efficient and frequent posting of large amounts of data that provides timely and easily searchable information about how public funds are being spent. The Utah Public Finance Website (transparent.utah. gov) provides a single location for that information to be stored and accessed. In recent years, the requirement to post this level of financial detail has been expanded to include smaller and smaller public organizations. Transparency has become a watchword for good governance in Utah. When charter schools embrace greater transparency, not simply complying with the requirements listed above, they can build greater trust with the public and elected officials while acting in the best interest of students and taxpayers. Transparency has become a watchword for good governance in Utah. When charter schools embrace greater transparency, not simply complying with the requirements listed above, they can build greater trust with the public and elected officials while acting in the best interest of students and taxpayers.