New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced Sept. 23 that financial data for 3,100 counties, cities, towns, villages, schools, and fire districts are now part of the Open Book New York Web site. DiNapoli launched Open Book New York (www.openbooknewyork.com) in June as part of his effort to inform taxpayers about how government spends their money.

"Open Book New York gives taxpayers unprecedented access to local government finance," DiNapoli said in a statement. "New Yorkers have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent, and Open Book delivers that information with just a few mouse clicks. Now more than ever, we need to make sure every dime counts. The more New Yorkers know, the more efficient their government will be."

DiNapoli launched this latest version of Open Book New York in conjunction with the release of his 2008 Annual Report on Local Governments.

Open Book New York makes it easy for taxpayers to compare year-to-year revenue -and spending trends for the last 11 years, starting in 1996 and ending in 2006, the comptroller said. Detailed breakdowns by revenue type and spending category are also included. Data will be added on a quarterly basis. In the future, DiNapoli plans to include debt, tax, and demographic data on local governments, as well as data for special purpose units, industrial development agencies, and other local units of governments.

The Web site also features searchable databases of state-government spending, including more than 60,000 state contracts and spending for more than 100 state agencies. The contracts database is updated nightly and can be searched by agency, company, timeframe, dollar amount, and more, the comptroller's office said.

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