Ipswich City Council has deployed OpenGov to provide constituents with real-time access to transparent reporting on council spending.
Ipswich City Council has given ratepayers unprecedented access to the city’s finances with the launch of an online Transparency and Integrity Hub in a first for local government in Australia.
Ipswich City Council has set a new standard for building trust with its community by using Redman Solutions to implement OpenGov, a solution that allows constituents real-time access to transparent reporting on council spending via an online portal.
More than six gigabytes and many thousands of lines of data has been published to the online hub, providing ratepayers with direct access to previous and current financial information for council, and council-controlled entities. Other available data includes councillor expenses, money spent on the city’s Smart City Program and procurement data for contracts over AU$200,000 (exl GST).
Mayor Teresa Harding said the hub’s launch was an important moment for the City of Ipswich.
“Never before in Australia has a local council opened up its books to the community to the extent we have with the Transparency and Integrity Hub, allowing ratepayers the greatest scrutiny over how their money is spent,” she said.
OpenGov Founder and CEO Zac Bookman applauded Ipswich for leading the way in the movement for effective and accountable government.
“I commend Mayor Teresa Harding on her go-live of OpenGov. Her demonstration of leadership to power a more effective and accountable Ipswich City Council directly aligns with our values,” he said.
“Through our local partner in Australia, Redman Solutions, we are delighted to help lead the way in transforming Australian local government. We look forward to collaborating on their transformation journey.”
Mayor Harding said using the OpenGov platform, which was unanimously selected via a panel through an open tender process, delivered on the commitment to residents to deliver a ‘best of breed’ solution for Ipswich.
Delivered by Queensland-based OpenGov partner, Redman Solutions, the Transparency and Integrity Hub is a user friendly, searchable platform, with a focus on providing data in an accessible way.
Financial information published to the hub will initially be updated monthly, with a plan to move to near real-time publication as soon as possible.
“This is a major change for how Ipswich City Council conducts business and will put a renewed focus on the way the council manages data and information,” Mayor Harding said. “We are committed to progressing to a point where financial information is updated daily.
“This is bigger than simply publishing data, it’s also about driving effective decisions through a more accountable organization and more informed community.”
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