The local government of Székelyudvarhely/Odorheiu Secuiesc has taken an important step toward making their budget easy to understand, transparent, and accountable, something previously missing from budgets local authorities are managing. In a move that is a novelty in this country, they seek to present the information in a way that every citizen with an internet connection can easily access and understand where the money comes from, where the local government is spending it, and how much.
Available on the city’s website in an interactive format, the open budget, which will likely be voted on next week, represents an effort by the local government to provide information to all locals using simple language so everyone can understand it. So far, the budget was only understood by and needed to be “translated” by economists into simple language, which prevented the free flow of the information every local has the right to access..The main scope of the open budget is to provide information about the resources the city has access to, the spending, and planned investments. Alongside the city’s budget, interested locals can view the budget of the institutions managed by the local authority, Attila Jakab city manager and economic counsel István Szilágyi said during the press conference announcing the move.
We are looking forward to seeing other cities in Romania joining this effort to make this kind of information easily accessible and easy to understand.
Title image: screenshot of the open budget available on wwww.udvarhely.ro
