Croatian Association of Counties presented the project ‘‘Open Budget’” on October 5, which includes four counties in its initial phase – Istria, Međimurje, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, and Šibenik-Knin, with the aim of achieving full budget transparency. According to the introductory speech by the president of the association, Goran Pauk, the project has two main objectives. The first is for all counties to adopt a simple and fully unified application that allows for detailed review and visualization of county budgets across all classifications, and the second is to enable mutual comparison of local and regional budgets at all levels.
Unsatisfactory Openness of Budget Transparency in Local Communities
– One of the most important acts of each county relates precisely to the budget. This project is a gain for citizens as it will for the first time present budget data transparently and simply, showing how their money is spent. However, the application also aims to compare county budgets so that counties can improve their efficiency and enhance competitiveness in the best possible way. Given that this initiative is being launched for the first time by a unit of regional self-government, it represents a significant step forward in transparency. I would emphasize that with this application, we want to encourage citizens to engage in budget creation, said Pauk before presenting the visually appealing interactive application developed by the Istrian company ‘Coin’ based in Pula on the ‘dataSimplified’ platform.
Citizens’ distrust of institutions is significant, but also understandable. By participating in this project, we want to restore citizens’ trust and build good relationships – Matija Posavec.
CROračun
The basic module for CROračun is available to all citizens, and implies truly easy use and visualization of budget items ‘on demand’. The application is generous, user-friendly, and intuitive, requiring just a few clicks for users to find the desired data in the form of charts or tables, which can then be downloaded and further used in presentations and reports, as they comply with the recently adopted law on machine-readable formats.
CROračun is fully adaptable for more demanding users who can easily ‘dive’ down to the last budget item, filter data, or track it over time. It also allows for mutual comparison of data from different counties based on predefined criteria.
Although primarily intended for citizens and strengthening their participation in budget preparation, the application can serve as an inexhaustible treasure trove of data for analysts, scientists, students, and journalists, and it presupposes mutual competition among counties as each local unit can be compared with similar ones. Finally, the application is definitely in line with current trends and can be compared with the best alternatives in other EU member states.
‘Excellent Idea’
– Counties do not resist change, so we accepted this project as an excellent idea. We always provide citizens with all information, but complete availability of information and detailed reports on the spending of budget funds is our priority. As the first president of the Croatian Association of Counties, I am proud that counties are the strongest link in the management of state funds – even better than the state itself, said Zlatko Komadina, the county head of Primorje-Gorski Kotar, after the application presentation.
Among the first to join the ‘Open Budget’ application project was Međimurje County, whose head Matija Posavec says:
– Croatia is currently a highly centralized state. Citizens’ distrust of institutions is significant, but also understandable. By participating in this project, we want to restore citizens’ trust and build good relationships. I must note that this is also an example for other units and an excellent way to further empower counties.
The satisfaction with the project was also expressed by the deputy head of Istria County, Viviani Benussi, as well as the representatives of the information commissioner Anamarija Muse, whose institution has also recently made a significant step towards strengthening transparency in Croatia. By the end of the year, all counties will be involved in the application development, and their budget data will also be available.
You can find and open the application at the following links:
1. Croatian Association of Counties 2. Istria County 3. Međimurje County 4. Primorje-Gorski Kotar County 5. Šibenik-Knin County 6. CROračun
