Transparency in Your Local Government

What Is A Transparency Initiative?

Applied to government, this means citizens should be able to see how their tax money is used by elected representatives. In the age of digital technology, citizens are calling on their state, local and national governments to provide access to the basic information they must have in order to make decisions as responsible citizens.

It is, therefore, our initiative to keep the citizens of Lake Lure informed and up to date.

"We strive to be extremely open and accurate in all of our publications in order to inform our citizens and to maintain their trust and confidence," said Finance Director Sam Karr. "It is an effort by our staff across many departments."

The John Locke Foundation, while not a governing entity, is a leader in guiding governments toward greater transparency. For years, the Foundation has managed a transparency assessment program for municipalities whereby local governments are graded on their effectiveness at transparency. The Town of Lake Lure achieved an "A" grade, landing it in the top one percent of the municipalities they examined.

 In the program, they provided a list of baseline documents and reports, which they felt should be easily available to citizens by their local government. While the John Locke Foundation no longer offers the Transparency in Government Program, the Town of Lake Lure will continue to make these documents available on an annual basis.