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Texas Comptroller
Leadership Circle
Leading Texas School Districts,
'Gold Award' Recipient from
over 1030 Districts, State-wide !
'Veribest ISD - always on the cutting edge'.
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 What is Financial Transparency?
You pay for your government, and you deserve to know how it spends your money. That philosophy is gaining traction. State and federal governments are increasingly making financial transparency a priority, opting to make many records freely accessible, rather than leave the public waiting for information requests.
Transparency is a broad term that, quite literally, means something that can be seen through. When we talk about transparency in terms of government spending, we are referring to government opening its books to the public so that taxpayers can see exactly where their money is going. Transparency ensures that your taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently by making all decisions in the open and on the record. Transparency means that citizens can review and question policymakers’ decisions, examine documents, root out inefficiencies and hold officials accountable for the way tax dollars are spent.
In the 'Texas Transparency Check-Up' initiative, they're tracking just how transparent local governments, school districts and other entities across the state are with your hard-earned dollars. In the state's determination, a government entity is meeting a high standard for transparency if it: - Opens its books to the public, providing clear, consistent pictures of spending
- Provides information in an easily accessible, user-friendly format
- Lets taxpayers easily drill down for more detailed information
- On the Texas Transparency Check-up, the Comptroller’s office checked to see to what extent local government entities provided online access to their budgets, financial reports and check registers, as defined below:
- Budget: Proposed spending and revenue, typically for a one-year period, shown in broad categories by office/department and by account type, such as salary, transportation or supplies. A more detailed budget may show data by month. A budget serves as the financial plan for the city, county or governing body.
- Financial Report: A comparison of budgeted to actual expenses and revenues, typically for a one-year period, shown in the same broad categories and account types as Budget. Monthly financial or treasurer's reports are typical shown in summary only. A financial report demonstrates how well the city, county or governing body managed within the proposed budget and plan.
- Check Register: Listing of line item expenses typically showing date, amount, to whom payment was made, account type, and purchase order number where applicable. Some check registers are searchable by vendor name and/or account type.
Technology (and the Web in particular) has changed the expectations for customer service and government transparency at all levels. In a computer- and Internet-based society, government can no longer justify the money and time required to print reports. Publishing information online means no postage, no waiting for the mail, up-to-date documents and worldwide accessibility. By demystifying state spending and providing easy access to those numbers we ensure greater accountability to the public. As the window on Texas state government (Public School Systems), our office cannot have the blinds pulled down.
"Veribest ISD Financial Transparency Data": 2009-2010: Budget Worksheet 
2009-2010: Financial Report
2009-2010: Check Register - May 2010 
2009-2010: Check Register - April 2010
2009-2010: Check Register - March 2010
2009-2010: Check Register - February 2010
2009-2010: Check Register - January 2010
2009-2010: Check Register - December 2009
2009-2010: Check Register - November 2009
2009-2010: Check Register - October 2009
2009-2010: Check Register - September 2009
2008-2009: Check Register - YTD
2007-2008: Check Register - YTD
2010-2011: Ordinance Setting Tax Rate Statement
* Adobe Reader needed to view the 'Check Register' reports. See footer below for downloads. Supplemental Information Links: - Taxpayer's Transparency Tips: How you can track your tax dollars
- Transparency Steps and Tools
- 'TexasAhead' State Comptroller's Website
- Texas Public Information Act - Government Code Chapter 552
- Local County Official - Contact Information:
- Mayor: (email) - Alvin New, (phone) - 325-716-9097
- Precinct 1 County Commissioner: (email) - Ralph Hoelscher, (phone) - 325.659.6511
- County Judge: (email) - Mike Brown, (phone) - 325.653.3318
- County Attorney: (email) - Chris Taylor, (phone) - 325.659.6562
- County Sheriff: (email) - Joe Hunt, (phone) - 325.655.8111
- Justice of the Peace: (email) - Jesse Martinez, (phone) - 325.659.6444
- Treasurer: (email) - Dianna Spieker, (phone) - 325.659.6520
- Tax Assessor: (email) - Cindy Jetton, (phone) - 325.658.5575
- Constable: (email) - Roy Balderaz, (phone) - 325.659.6442
- County Clerk: (email) - Elizabeth McGill, (phone) - 325.659.6511
- Texas State Representative House District 72: (email) - Drew Darby, (phone) - 512.463.0331
- Texas State Board of Education SBOE District 15: (email) - Bob Craig, (phone) - 806.744.3232
- Texas State Senator: (email) - Robert Duncan, (phone) - 512.463.0128
- Texas U.S. Representative - Congressional District 11: (email) - Mike Conaway, (phone) - 202.225.3605
- U.S. Senators: (email) - John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, (phone) -
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