Tracking state spending

Hartford (WTNH) - There's a new on-line tool that helps every Connecticut resident keep track of state spending.

All of the public's business is supposed to be public, and it is, but sometimes finding documents that are public can be a long and cumbersome task.

A new website called ctsunlight.org has been established to make anyone who wants to be one, a public spending watchdog. All of the state government payroll information has been loaded into this one location.

Maybe you want to find out how much Governor Rell is paid.

"So here we have Mary Rell, that would be M. Jodi Rell to most of us, and her salary is $150,000," explained Fergus Cullen of the Yankee Institute. 

Want to find out how much the state spent on hotels in a particular state?

"So here we have, under the category 'hotels' and then we put in the state 'Nevada' and we find that the state had spent some $4,041 on hotels in Nevada," Cullen said.

And you can find some remarkable things that some state agencies spend your money on.

"We see that the state had 117 different purchases for 'Athletes and Entertainers' totaling $123,743. Among them are 'Huggles the Clown' for $600 with the Department of Correction," Cullen said.

It took about six months to put all the information on-line in this one location.

"We believe that bringing disclosure and transparency to how taxpayer's dollars are spent, puts downward pressure on spending, and that, in turn, keeps taxes low," Cullen said.