Gov. Butch Otter and State Controller Brandon D. Woolf unveiled Idaho’s new state financial transparency website — Transparent Idaho — today.

The new site, Transparent.Idaho.gov, includes thousands of downloadable reports on Idaho’s finances for the current and prior fiscal years. The reports range from broad summaries of state revenues and expenditures with easy-to-read charts and graphs, to detailed snapshots of agency-level finances. Raw data can even be downloaded for those who wish to conduct their own analysis of Idaho’s latest financial data. The data is updated nightly.

“Brandon and I are on the same page when it comes to shining a bright light on Idaho’s finances,” Otter said in a press release. “For our republic to function it is critical for Idaho citizens to have unfettered access to their government’s financial records. Brandon has made that access even easier.”

The Transparent Idaho website was developed by Woolf’s office in cooperation with a host of other state agencies. “We worked closely with the Governor’s Division of Financial Management and the Legislative Service Office,” Woolf said. “Together, we’ve laid a strong foundation for improving Idaho’s online financial transparency. Over time, we intend to build on this foundation.”

The state plans to put even more of its financial data available online in the future. “Our goal is to put Idaho’s checkbook online, but that will take some time and resources,” Woolf said. Otter added, “Considering they built this Web site using existing resources and no additional appropriation, it’s a first step we can all be proud of.”