Your tax dollars are paying for special districts in Texas to build that library, refurbish that parking lot, put new equipment in the park, fix up and fit the local public schools, and to design and build any new district project. You have to hope that your tax dollars, which you have worked really hard at earning, are being well spent. How do you know that your tax is going to the right place and not in the pockets of a few corrupt individuals, or how do you know that your tax dollars are not being misspent? You have to hold your special districts accountable. You need to support them, because that is how projects get off the ground that work for the community, but you have to hold them accountable too. And special districts need to want to be accountable.
Holding special districts accountable
The only way to hold special districts accountable is by ensuring that their finance department is transparent. But how do you, the local community member who has nothing to do with the actual management of the project, ensure this? You can check on the accounting and financial management of a public project by ensuring they are working with a financial consultant who is designated for the management of public projects, specifically the financial management of such projects. Financial consultants should be neutral and a special district, no matter who or where they are, must use a public financial consultant. This public financial consultant is the person who is assigned to the project, who assesses the finances, who keeps an eye on the financial spending and allocations, and ensures that there is full accountability and that all transactions are well spent and above ground. It is the only way to get the transparency that the community deserve, as well as ensuring the project will come in at budget and be successful.
Special districts financial consultants
It is important for you to know that the special districts consultants are not appointed by the special districts. Again, this is to ensure transparency and accountability and that there are no shady deals, that there is no nepotism and that any financial transaction is legal and productive and useful to the project. An outside financial consultant, who is a specially trained financial consultant in the public sphere, is appointed to the project. They work well with the special districts and will support, guide, consult, advice and assess. If changes need to be made, they will oversee the changes. They are ethical and in turn, ensure the entire process is ethical.
Communities are dependent on special districts for the upkeep of their suburbs and cities, including providing facilities like parks, libraries, clinics, hospitals, crèches, schools, and even, in providing water and energy and sewage. All of this uses a lot of tax dollars and so all public projects need to be well managed. The special districts in Texas use local special district appointed financial and other consultants to ensure transparency.
