County Awarded Top Honor For Financial Transparency

TYLER — The Texas Comptroller’s Office announced this week that Smith County is the recipient of its highest financial transparency award. Smith County is one of only 10 counties in the state to achieve the Platinum designation in the Texas Comptroller Leadership Circle, the newest and highest level of transparency recognized by the State Comptroller’s Office. According to the Comptroller’s announcement, this award is reserved for entities that are “raising the bar for open government at the local level.”

County Judge Joel Baker, who serves as Chief Budget Officer for the County, says posting the county’s check register online, making online videos of public meetings readily available, and publishing the county’s complete budget document on its website are just a few of the steps the county has taken to promote transparency and community involvement in county government. “The citizens of Smith County are very involved and interested in what we do as stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars. We want everyone to have access to our meetings and financial transactions from their home or office computer so they can stay updated and involved with the decisions that we make,” Judge Baker said.