New group wants Cape Girardeau spending data to be placed online

A new statewide organization promoting transparency in government has suggestions for Cape Girardeau.

The city should publish its purchasing policies on its website and provide online access to payments being made to vendors, former state representative Carl Bearden said at a news conference Wednesday.

Bearden has formed two not-for-profit organizations that he said are dedicated to holding state and local governments accountable for spending policies and practices. United for Missouri is organized as an advocacy group that will work to limit government spending, promote tax limitation and push citizens to become involved in their state and local governments. United for Missouri's Future is organized as an educational organization to provide information about tax reform alternatives and analyze government spending policies.

Calling for Cape Girardeau to put its spending practices online isn't meant to be a criticism of the city, Bearden said during his stop at Broadway Books and Roasting Co., 605 Broadway.

"We don't go into a community to say, 'How can we beat up Cape Girardeau?'" Bearden said. "The way we can restore confidence in government is to provide additional information."

Instead, he said, Cape Girardeau can set an example for the rest of the state by making the information easily available.

In response, city manager Scott Meyer said both ideas are good goals. But presenting the city's checkbook online would require software that may be beyond the city's budget. The city purchasing policies are in the midst of an update and will be posted online when that is complete, Meyer said.

"We certainly share the goal of transparency in government," Meyer said. "That is the right thing to do."

The city tries to provide as much detail about its activities as it can on its website, Meyer said. "We are pretty open now about how we spend our money and certainly aren't opposed to doing more," he said. "But that costs money and we have to ask if that is the most important thing we can do."

Bearden is a former House Speaker pro tem and most recently was executive director of Americans for Prosperity-Missouri. He said he formed the new groups to focus on state and local issues in Missouri.

The push to provide online purchasing and spending information grew out of a test of Sunshine Law responses by local governments, Bearden said. Some were responsive, with complete answers to the questions asked, while others were incomplete and subject to charges of up to $500 for the data requested.

"We are not talking just about Cape Girardeau," Bearden said. "Every school district, every city and every county ought to do it."

Bearden's organizations have tax-exempt status and one, United for Missouri's Future, is set up so that donations are tax-deductible. Asked how transparent his organizations would be, Bearden said he will not disclose donors but will provide detailed information about spending to donors and post the annual revenue and expense report required by the IRS on the organizations' websites.

"We are a private organization with volunteer donors," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

605 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, MO

On the web:

United for Missouri: www.unitedformissouri.org

United for Missouri's Future: www.ufmf.org