Hoosiers can now find out how the state government is spending money. The new addition to the state's transparency portal keeps a tally of expenditures on everything from vehicles to office equipment.
Indiana has $13 billion in what's called fixed assets – everything from tractors to bridges, land to office furniture. And all of it is now available to view on the state's transparency website.
There, Hoosiers can see that the state owns more than 4,000 buildings and nearly 11,000 vehicles.
State Auditor Suzanne Crouch, whose office runs the portal, says it's important for the information to be easily accessible.
"The more the public knows about their government, the better their government is going to perform," she says. "And the more transparent our government is, the more accountable it is to the taxpayers."
Democratic State Auditor candidate Michael Claytor has been critical of state government transparency, pointing to some government contracts that are no longer available to view online.
Crouch says individual agencies handle the reporting of contracts – she says whatever agencies report to her office goes on the site.