State Comptroller Susan Combs presented the Lower Colorado River Authority Monday (July 19) with a gold certification as part of LCRA's membership in the Texas Comptroller's Leadership Circle for fulfilling the highest level of financial transparency requirements.

LCRA is the first river authority to achieve this level of recognition as part of the Texas Transparency Check-Up Program sponsored by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

"'Thank you' to the folks at the LCRA for the leadership in the area of transparency," Combs told LCRA General Manager Tom Mason, adding that LCRA is "going the extra mile" and "setting the bar" for other public agencies to follow in voluntarily providing financial information to the public.

"When we operate transparently, it is better for everyone," Mason said in accepting the award. "Providing this level of information increases the level of communications and trust with our customers and the public."

While LCRA does not levy taxes or receive tax money, it considers its revenues, which come from rates and fees from its electric, water and community service operations, to be public funds that would be covered by the Texas Transparency Check-Up program, which works to increase financial disclosure and accountability among Texas public agencies.

"Our goal is to serve the public, and transparency builds trust and helps us to be more accountable to the public," Mason said.

The Texas Transparency Check-Up program encourages public agencies to publish on their websites certain financial information, including the agency's annual budget, its annual report, and a "check register" of major expenditures for its past two fiscal years.

For years LCRA has posted its annual report and its business plan (which includes its budget) on its website but recently added the check register, qualifying LCRA for the highest level of recognition from the comptroller's office.

Visitors to LCRA's website at www.lcra.org can easily find the financial information by clicking on the "Financial Highlights" button at the bottom of the front page. The Comptroller's Office's "Where the Money Goes" website is at www.texastransparency.org/moneygoes/.