The Kasich Administration recently joined Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, and the Ohio Checkbook, at the forefront of public transparency.

The Office of Budget and Management (OBM), which is responsible for creating and monitoring how Ohio spends billions of taxpayer dollars, just unveiled an interactive budget, allowing state revenues to be tracked down to the line item.

This new tool will be particularly useful to citizens wanting to examine their state government and researchers wishing to take a deep dive into Ohio’s finances – and doing so with the most up-to-date information. It also contains ready-made searches that allow users to look at a wide range of spending categories, including Medicaid, school funding, debt service, capital funding, and many others.

Best of all, it’s easy to follow. The site incorporates engaging graphics to help those not used to reading dry budget documents. It also offers a very informative state employee database that includes salaries by agencies and separates base salaries, overtime, and any amount paid for leaving state employment, such as sick leave or vacation payouts.

While much of the data is available on both sites – the OBM interactive budget and Ohio Checkbook – there are some key differences. For example, the Ohio Checkbook is reaching out to higher education institutions and, most crucially, to local governments too. These areas are not included in the OBM interactive budget, but represent major areas of taxpayer spending that should be open to inspection. Meanwhile, the interactive budget offers up-to-date state revenues, changes to budget line items, and includes additional information on public salaries than what is available elsewhere.

The Buckeye Institute has stood for years at the forefront of government transparency. We were the first major organization in Ohio to have public salary databases, recognizing this information is a pillar of good government. It is only by understanding where taxpayer dollars are being spent that “we the people” have an understanding of what their government is doing on their behalf.

The expansion of transparency is a welcome sign that state leaders have heard the message The Buckeye Institute and taxpayers have long preached. In fact, they are going even further and giving even more robust tools that all Ohioans can use to empower themselves and hold officials to account at all levels of government.

Advocates of government accountability should give a round of applause to both the Kasich Administration and Treasurer Mandel for their efforts. And when they’re done clapping they should start clicking, exploring the OBM interactive budget and Ohio Checkbook to see where their tax dollars are being used.