Ballwin Alderman's Push To Track Tax Dollars Up For Discussion Monday

If it is good enough for the Mehlville Fire Department and the Monarch Fire Protection District, it should be good enough for the city of Ballwin.

Roughly a year after first proposing the idea, that, essentially, is the message Mark Harder will deliver Monday night at the Board of Aldermen meeting.

Read The Meeting Agenda

Those agencies, Alderman Harder said in a memo prepared for the meeting, have either implemented or voted to create a "transparency portal" that tracks how tax dollars are spent, including employee salaries and payments to vendors.

Harder's memo said a move to enact a similar portal in Ballwin was delayed by a switch to a new accounting software but that now was the time to act.

"If a small fire district could do this, I would think that we could make this work if we want it," Harder said in the memo. "I believe we need to be on the cutting edge of of financial transparency. We have a good story to tell," he added.

Due to ongoing renovations at the Police and Courts building, the Board of Aldermen will meet at The Pointe at Ballwin Commons, starting at 7 p.m.

Tell us what you think: Does the city need a transparency portal? Is there an expense you're interested in tracking? Tell us in the comment section.