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The Naperville Sun reported yesterday on DuPage County Treasurer Gwen Henry’s new “County Finances at a Glance” web page. Henry deserves credit for making DuPage finances more accessible - particularly by giving monthly updates (January 2007 is currently showing - hopefully it will still be accessible when February is put up). She told the Naperville Sun in a written statement that

“I believe it is my duty to provide full and accurate disclosure of the county’s finances…. In times like these, when the county is experiencing financial difficulty, I believe it is particularly critical that everyone involved has a clear and accurate picture of where the county stands.”

While her aims are laudable, there is still a lot of room for improving transparency and comprehension. For example, what is one to make of the almost $24.6 million balance in the Corporate Fund

“the primary funding source for elected officials and County support functions, covering basic governmental activities such as public safety, legal and judicial operations, community and human services, county administration, property assessment and tax collections. Approximately 64% of County staff is Corporate funded.”

This is an example of too little (line item figures) combined with too much (mention of component parts) obscuring what might be meaningful (like an assessment of are we on track to cover expenses - and which expenses are budgeted higher or lower than in previous years). While Henry told the Naperville Sun that the Treasurer’s office can provide more details as needed, one has to ask if what is currently publicly accessible online is sufficient for any “full and…clear…picture of where the county stands.” As The Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said in a November 2006 report on DuPage’s budget, “A more user-friendly budget document would both raise the quality and relevance of public commentary and demonstrate to County residents that their government takes public input seriously.” Newly elected DuPage Treasurer Gwen Henry has taken a positive first step and, to be fair, much of the criticism for a lack of budget transparency lays at the feet of DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom and the County Board. Still, I remain hopeful that Treasurer Gwen Henry can help DuPage taxpayers better understand where their money goes. Let’s hope Gwen Henry will take enough steps to help bridge the gap between offering limited facts of little value, and providing meaningful information that DuPage taxpayers deserve to know.