A spending-transparency initiative championed by state Comptroller Richard Eckstrom is gaining momentum, as ten municipal and county governments in South Carolina have begun posting their spending details on the Internet.

Earlier this month, cities of Charleston and Chesnee began posting their monthly check registers on the Web, giving taxpayers click-of-a-mouse access to information about how their money is used. Previously, the towns of Irmo and Turbeville, the cities of Cayce, Myrtle Beach and Aiken and the counties of Charleston, Dorchester and Anderson had begun posting their financial details.

In addition, the Holly Springs Fire-Rescue District in Spartanburg County has begun posting its transactions.

“By putting such information at people’s fingertips, these local officials understand it’s not their money they’re spending,” said Eckstrom. “It’s the people’s money, and in this Information Age it’s not difficult or expensive to provide people easy access to government spending details.”

In addition to the 10 that have already begin posting their check registers online, several local governments are planning to join the transparency program. Richland County and the city of Columbia are planning to post their check registers online within the next few months, and the city of Surfside Beach will begin doing so by September, Eckstrom said. A subcommittee of Aiken County Council also recently voted to recommend the posting of the county’s finances.

Last year, Eckstrom unveiled a spending transparency Web site for state government. In February, working alongside the non-profit research organization S.C. Policy Council, he expanded the transparency initiative to local governments, encouraging them to post their checkbooks on their Web sites. Small towns without Web sites can send their check registers to the comptroller’s office to be posted on the comptroller’s site, www.cg.sc.gov. Irmo and Chesnee post their checkbooks on the comptroller’s site.

“Even in the best of times, it’s important to let people see how their hard-earned dollars are being spent,” Eckstrom said. “When spending is done in the open, public officials are usually more accountable, knowing their decisions could face scrutiny. In tough financial times, when tax dollars are scarce, it’s even more important that the public’s business is conducted in full public view.”