Tarrant County became the first county in the state to earn stars in all six transparency areas from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, according to a post on the county’s LinkedIn page.
In a nutshellThe Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts website states that the “Transparency Stars program recognizes local governments for going above and beyond in their transparency efforts.”
According to Tarrant County’s LinkedIn post, the criteria evaluated to receive stars include traditional public finances; contracts and procurement; economic development; public pensions; debt obligations and open government compliance.
The website also states that counties that are awarded these stars provide “clear and meaningful financial information by posting financial documents, as well as thorough summaries, visualizations, downloadable data and other relevant information.”
Tarrant County’s website has an OpenBooks section for site visitors to look up updates in the following areas:
- Economic development
- Public pension
- Debt obligation
- Traditional finances summary
- Public information requests
- Commissioners Court agendas
- Capital projects and schedules
- Transportation bond projects
Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez said on his Facebook page that earning six stars is “a remarkable accomplishment for our entire Tarrant County team.”
