NYS Forum

2007-2008 Best Practices Award Winners

POLICY
NYS Office of the State Comptroller
Open Book New York

For too long, New York State government has done business behind closed doors. In March 2008, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) formed a Steering Committee charged with the responsibility of creating and launching an Internet site, called Open Book New York. The purpose of this site is to promote transparency in government and help New Yorkers learn how their tax dollars are being spent. The Open Book New York Steering Committee was comprised of representatives from OSC's Office of Operations, Division of the Chief Information Officer, the Office of Policy Analysis, the Division of Retirement Services, the Office of State and Local Government Accountability and the Press Office. The Committee, which met weekly, received executive level support and guidance throughout the project lifecycle. From inception to implementation, in total, over 80 staff within OSC touched the Open Book New York Project.

Creating Open Book New York was a true process of inclusion, with a mindset toward making the site as useful as possible to those seeking information on how the State does business and spends its money. During the design effort, two focus group meetings were held with members of the public and the press where a prototype of the site was demonstrated so that feedback concerning functionality, content, presentation of information, and ease of use could be obtained. Suggested changes, whenever possible and practical, were then incorporated into the site.

In just three months, Open Book New York was designed, programmed and successfully launched to the public and a help desk was staffed with representatives available to assist callers and those who email with questions concerning the site. Research indicates that although several other States provide information regarding contracting and spending, none offer a help desk to provide assistance with questions. A press conference was held on June 17, 2008, the day of the launch, and included a demonstration of the site and words of support from legislative leaders, civic organizations and government watchdogs who praised Comptroller DiNapoli's initiative as an innovative way to share information with taxpayers. Positive editorials continue to be received from newspapers across the State regarding the site.

Open Book New York was created using Cold Fusion 7.0 server and SQL server 2005, with Dreamweaver 8.0 being used for the creation of HTML and Cold Fusion pages. No separate funding was made available to create and launch the site. The only costs associated with the site, besides staffing costs, was the purchase of $15,000 worth of server software.

The site includes two powerful search tools. The first contains active State contracts and contract amendments that State agencies have with businesses, not-for-profit organizations and other governmental entities. The contracts search tool is updated nightly and contains over 60,000 active contracts going back several years. The database can be searched by agency, company, timeframe, dollar amount and more. The second tool tracks spending for State agencies and public authorities for all major spending categories, including contractual services, travel, equipment, grants, salaries and wages, employee benefits, and supplies and materials. The State agency spending tool is updated quarterly.

Open Book New York is designed to be easy-to-use for experienced government insiders as well as citizens. The site contains glossaries that define all terms and frequently asked questions to help the end-user find an answer quickly. In addition, all available data can be loaded as a PDF file or an Excel spreadsheet.

Since the June 17, 2008 launch of Open Book New York, 8,240 visitors have used the site, clearly demonstrating that New Yorkers have a true interest in discovering how their tax dollars are being spent. Plans are now underway to add more information to Open Book New York, with spending for 3,100 local governments for the last 11 years to be posted in late summer. Brochures and other informational material are being created for wide distribution, with the intent of ensuring that as many citizens as possible know about the Open Book New York resource and OSC's efforts to promote transparency in government.

The Open Book New York Project is a true example of collaboration and creativity among staff and a demonstration of how to get things done in government while being ever mindful of the fiscal climate and the use of taxpayer dollars. The Open Book New York site can be viewed at: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/openbook/

Contacts:

Joan M. Sullivan

Exe. Dep. Comptroller for Operations

NYS Office of the State Comptroller

110 State Street, 15th Floor

Albany, New York 12236

(518) 402-4103

jsullivan@osc.state.ny.us

 

Kevin Belden

Dep. Comptroller and CIO

NYS Office of the State Comptroller

110 State Street, 13th Floor

Albany, New York 12236

(518) 486-4349

kbelden@osc.state.ny.us