The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller) began the Leadership Circle program in December 2009 to encourage the more than 1,200 incorporated cities in Texas to make financial transparency an ongoing goal and to recognize local governments across Texas that strive to meet high standards for financial transparency online. The Comptroller announced that in 2015, it was enhancing the Leadership Circle program by spotlighting entities that meet an even higher standard of financial transparency by adding the Platinum Award level. Possible awards are platinum, gold, silver and bronze (in that order).
The Leadership Circle program spotlights those local governments that are:
•opening their books to the public
•providing clear, consistent pictures of spending
•sharing information in a user-friendly format that lets taxpayers easily drill down for more detail.