Wake spending to be posted online

In what would be an unprecedented move toward transparency, Wake commissioners this week were briefed on a plan to post all purchasing card spending by county employees in a searchable database on the Web. The move is a reaction to last summer’s scandal involving about $90,000 in improper charges on government credit cards by employees in the county’s Solid Waste Department.

County manager David Cooke said the on-line portal would allow Wake citizens to serve as a posse of watchdogs, with an e-mail address to contact county staff if they spot spending that appears suspect.

Commissioner Paul Coble, a conservative who likes to tout his credentials as a guardian of taxpayer money, expressed concern that allowing unfettered access to the spending data could open a Pandora’s box.

“There are people in this county who will delight in deluging you with questions, taking up staff time,” Coble warned Wake administrators Monday. “They will run you ragged just for fun.”

Take that as a challenge, WakeWatch readers. If all goes as planned, employee spending will start being posted on the county's site this summer.