The Problem
Local governments often hide documents and spending records from the taxpaying public despite requirements under the Sunshine Law that mandate meaningful transparency.
The Solution
Require that local governments report spending information.
Key Facts
- Missouri already has two programs through which local governments may report their spending to facilitate oversight by the public, but thus far only 33 counties and six municipalities are sharing information.
- One of the few ways for many taxpayers to obtain detailed information about their government’s expenditures is through the submission of a Sunshine Law request, but this system is fraught with government roadblocks and weak consequences for statutory violations.
A Checkbook for Missouri
The creation of the Show-Me Checkbook by the state treasurer’s office in 2018 and the passage of House Bill 271 in 2021 established voluntary reporting programs in the state for local governments. Yet those developments should be the beginning, not the end, of transparency and accountability for local government in Missouri. Local governing bodies should be required, not invited, to report their spending.
Accountability Pays Dividends
Online transparency portals ensure that rather than responding to Sunshine Law requests for these data, local governments can simply refer requestors to the continuously updating online resource. At the same time, taxpayers will be able to see in an understandable format where their money is going, and they will be able to keep tabs on the activities of elected leaders and bureaucrats when they choose.
Empowering the Auditors
Missouri adopted House Bill 2111 in the 2024 legislative session to increase the authority of the state auditor to investigate reports of malfeasance in local government. This positive change has improved accountability in local government by giving the state auditor the ability to audit local governments without a formal request or a petition drive in cases where financial irregularities are suspected.
Next, the state should consider adopting requirements and standards for local county auditors in Missouri’s larger counties (charter, first, and second-class counties). The quality of local auditing varies dramatically, from good in St. Charles County to basically nonexistent in St. Louis County.
Unfortunately, in 2025 the courts overturned a law imposing stricter reporting standards for municipalities within St. Louis County on the grounds that it was a “special law” applying only within St. Louis County. The legislature should address that issue by making higher reporting standards applicable to municipalities in every Missouri county.
The use of tax dollars to advocate for or against local government ballot issues has received significant attention this year. The time is right for the legislature to restrict or even eliminate the ability of local governments to use tax dollars to share information on ballot issues with voters. Attempts by local governments to be “neutral” generally make a mockery of the idea of neutrality and should be curtailed.
Policy Recommendations
- Make the reporting of local government spending data to the Show-Me Checkbook and the Missouri Accountability Portal database mandatory rather than voluntary.
- Expand the now-overturned financial reporting requirements in RSMO §67.287 for municipalities in St. Louis County to all municipalities statewide.
- Ban the use of tax dollars by local governments to share information on local ballot issues.
