Finances Web site coming

CARSON CITY -- Gov. Jim Gibbons on Tuesday signed an executive order that he predicted will give citizens as much information about state finances as he receives himself.

Gibbons signed the Nevada Open Government Initiative to set up a Web site at which citizens can review complete state financial records, with information about state contracts, grants and expenditures.

"You will have the same information that I have in dealing with state financial institutions," he said. "They want to see the results of their taxpayer dollars."

But Gibbons said he was not yet sure whether all checks showing state expenditures and receipts would be placed on the Web site.

The site will list salary information for workers by job category, but Gibbons said it might not include names or list deductions for insurance and other items.

He said he hopes the Web site, which will cost $78,000, will be operational by Jan. 1.

Initially he wants to place on the site -- www.open.nv.gov -- the proposed state budget that he will present to the Legislature in January.

But all information might not be placed on the site before June 30, 2010.

"My hope is to include (financial information from) the treasurer, controller, Legislative Counsel Bureau, as well as the administrative office of the courts," the governor said.

Nevada is the fourth state to adopt an open government initiative, a movement spurred by President Bush's signing in 2006 of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which created a similar federal Web site.

Gibbons acknowledged that most state financial information already is on Web sites, particularly the Department of Administration site -- http://dadmin.state.nv.us/ -- maintained by Budget Director Andrew Clinger, and the Legislature's site -- http://www.leg.state.nv.us/.

But the open government site will be more "user friendly" and contain more in-depth information, Clinger said.

Contact reporter Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or (775) 687-3901.