Project Mountaineer makes Jefferson County launch of transparency website

McCuskey
- McCuskey
- Jackson
- Shadle
According to the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office, State Auditor JB McCuskey joined the Jefferson County Commission and the Jefferson County Clerk on Friday to launch Jefferson County’s transparency website through Project Mountaineer.
“I am thankful that Jefferson County said ‘yes’ to transparency, to allow citizens access to real-time information about how their tax dollars are being spent. This will also ensure elected leaders have easy access to information necessary to make informed financial decisions,” McCuskey said. “Transparency is a top priority for my office. We started at the top and we are now seeing more and more local governments join the movement to make West Virginia one of the most transparent states in the country.”
According to West Virginia State Auditor’s Office Deputy Chief of Staff Kallie Cart, Project Mountaineer is a free accounting tool that has recently begun being offered through the State Auditor’s West Virginia Checkbook program. The program is available to county and city governments and displays financial transactions and spending of taxpayer dollars in a searchable online database.
While not all West Virginia municipalities currently have joined the program and launched their own transparency websites, the office believes Project Mountaineer is proving to be a success. After all, its pilot program may have begun with only five cities back in 2018, but 11 other West Virginia municipalities that heard of it immediately reached out to express their interest in having their own iteration of the software program. And, while it may have taken a few more years for Jefferson County to get around to joining the program, once the JCC decided to pursue it, the actualization of it quickly fell into place.

Jackson
“It has been a pleasure to work with the State Auditor’s Office and Jefferson County Clerk Jacki Shadle to see Project Mountaineer come to fruition in Jefferson County,” said Jefferson County Commissioner Tricia Jackson. “The project began last September, when I contacted the Auditor’s Office about implementing West Virginia Checkbook in Jefferson County to bring transparency to county taxpayers. We then kicked off the integration process in January and completed the roll out this past Thursday.”
Jefferson County Clerk Jacki Shadle said she was also pleased with this project coming to fruition.
“I am proud that my office has worked with Auditor JB McCuskey, Commissioner Tricia Jackson and the rest of the Jefferson County Commission to roll out Project Mountaineer via West Virginia Checkbook here in Jefferson County,” Shadle said. “One of my duties as clerk is to maintain financial records for Jefferson County. I also believe that taxpayers in Jefferson County and across West Virginia have a right to know how every penny of their tax money is spent and the State Auditor’s West Virginia Checkbook site makes it easy for residents to access this important information in realtime.”
To view Jefferson County’s transparency website, visit wvcheckbook.gov and click on “Local Government Transparency.”
Questions regarding actual financial data on the website may be directed to the Jefferson County Commission. Questions regarding Project Mountaineer or wvcheckbook.gov may be directed to the State Auditor’s Office at 304-558-2251.

Shadle