Jan
26
Thursday, January 26, 2012 9:19 AM
BexarMet Water District received notification this week that it would be receiving the Leadership Circle Award for the third year in a row from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts office. The award is for successfully implementing financial transparency on BexarMet’s website and local government.
Annette Holmes, regional representative for the Texas Comptroller’s office, wrote, “I am pleased to inform you that the Bexar Metropolitan Water District has earned a SILVER Leadership Circle Award by scoring 13 of 20 possible points on our ratings criteria. The silver insignia indicating that you have earned this award will be added to your listing on our Texas Transparency website.”
According to Mike Lopez, Director of Public Affairs, the Leadership Circle has three award levels – Gold, Silver and Bronze. “The program spotlights local government entities, such as BexarMet that have opened their books to the public and thus providing a clear consistent picture of spending and sharing of information in a user-friendly format that lets ratepayers easily search for more information.”
BexarMet meets two of three major criteria by posting its current budget and annual financial reports on a dedicated web page. The website must also meet six minor criteria. The minor criteria ranges from providing the District’s contact information with a financial link on the homepage. The website also must provide contact information for elected officials and how to request public information. Other items that are considered are easy access to financial documents; budgets for three fiscal years; current water rates and annual financial reports for at least fiscal years. All of these items were considered by staff when the website was developed and implemented three years ago by WebHead Technology Group of San Antonio.
“The award is a testament to the teamwork found at BexarMet from the Board of Directors, the General Manager, the Accounting Department, and to individual department directors for the water utility,” concludes Lopez. This award designation is valid for one year from January 23, 2012.