Performance measures for executive departments added to Missouri Budget Explorer website

(From the Missouri Office of Administration)

The Office of Administration announced today that the Missouri Budget Explorer website now features the performance measures of the State of Missouri’s 16 executive departments — giving citizens greater insight into how taxpayer-funded programs are executing their missions. Launched in October 2018, the website, budgetexplorer.mo.gov, gives users a comprehensive review of the state budget, along with links to more detailed information.

With the addition of the performance measures, the public will now be able to see how each department is fulfilling the goals for their programs and initiatives. This will create even greater transparency as citizens will be able to see where their money is going and how it is being used.

“Implementing Budget Explorer last year was another step in having government better serve our citizens,” said Drew Erdmann, State of Missouri Chief Operating Officer. “Improving how we track performance is important to our back-to-basics management transformation agenda. Making the budget performance measures more accessible to our citizens will help them understand better the impact of their hard-earned tax dollars and thereby help them hold our departments accountable.”

“Creating greater transparency about government performance is a priority for this administration. Missouri taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent,” said Office of Administration Commissioner Sarah Steelman. “Adding performance measures makes the Budget Explorer website a more robust one-stop resource for state budget information.”

“The goal of the Missouri Budget Explorer is to allow anyone to explore with a click the state’s budget,” said State Budget Director Dan Haug. “Adding the performance measures for every program in the budget helps us better connect with Missourians.”

“Missouri citizens have a right to know how their money is being spent, and featuring department performance measures will further enhance transparency throughout the state,” said State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick. “This addition to Missouri’s Budget Explorer will complement Show-Me Checkbook as a user-friendly tool for citizens to access our state’s budget.”

“As the chairman of the Missouri Senate’s Appropriations Committee, these performance measures allow lawmakers to take advantage of critical data when it comes to measuring how a state agency or department is using their appropriated resources,” said Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby. “This information will provide lawmakers with another tool to hold agencies accountable, and it has the potential to empower lawmakers to be better stewards of state resources.”

“As the state budget grows increasingly more complex, I’m glad the administration has put a tool in place to make spending and accountability information readily available to all Missourians,” said House Budget Chair Cody Smith, R-Carthage.

The Missouri Budget Explorer website provides links to the legislative budget bills and each department’s strategic management priorities. The website also takes citizens to Governor Mike Parson’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget recommendations, and Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick’s Show-Me Checkbook, which is a financial data transparency portal that was launched in August 2018 by former Missouri State Treasurer Eric Schmitt.