SPRING VALLEY TOWNSHIP — Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel announced Feb. 5 the launch of Spring Valley Township’s online checkbook on www.OhioCheckbook.com.

In December 2014, Mandel launched OhioCheckbook.com, which sets a new national standard for government transparency and for the first time in Ohio history puts all state spending information on the internet. OhioCheckbook.com recently earned Ohio the number one government transparency ranking in the country for the second year in a row.

“I believe the people of Greene County have a right to know how their tax money is being spent, and I applaud local leaders here for partnering with my office to post the finances on OhioCheckbook.com,” said Mandel. “By posting local government spending online, we are empowering taxpayers across Ohio to hold public officials accountable.”

The treasurer’s office was joined at the announcement by Spring Valley Township Fiscal Officer Kitty Crockett. Spring Valley Township is the 10th township in Greene County to post its spending on OhioCheckbook.com. Spring Valley Township’s online checkbook includes more than 6,800 individual transactions that represent more than $3.2 million of total spending during the past four years.

“We are proud to offer this as a resource to our citizens so they can have easier access and better understanding as to how their hard earned dollars are spent,” Crockett said.

On April 7, 2015 Mandel sent a letter to 18,062 local government and school officials representing 3,962 local governments throughout the state calling on them to place their checkbook level data on OhioCheckbook.com and extending an invitation to partner with his office at no cost to local governments. These local governments include cities, counties, townships, schools, library districts and other special districts.

Since its launch in 2014, OhioCheckbook.com has received overwhelming support from newspapers and groups across the state and, as of February 4, 2017 there have been more than 900,000 total searches on the site.

OhioCheckbook.com displays more than $644 billion in spending during the past 10 years, including more than 173 million transactions.

In March 2015, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) released its annual “Following the Money 2015” report and Mandel earned Ohio the No. 1 transparency ranking in the country for providing online access to government spending data. In April 2016, U.S. PIRG announced that Mandel earned Ohio the No. 1 government transparency ranking in the country for the second consecutive year in a row.

The Treasurer’s office is partnering with OpenGov, a leading Silicon Valley government technology company, to provide residents of Ohio the ability to view and search local government expenditures in a user-friendly, digital format.

“Ohio is setting the standard for financial transparency on an unprecedented scale. We are excited to partner with the Treasurer’s office to bring world-class technology to communities large and small across the state,” said Zachary Bookman, CEO of OpenGov.

For more information, visit the Local Government option on OhioCheckbook.com.