Treasurer Garrity Unveils Webpage Highlighting Ledger 5
Tool used to account for non-budgeted expenditures will be open to the public for the first time
Harrisburg, PA - Treasurer Stacy Garrity today announced that a new webpage highlighting Ledger 5 – a tool used to account for non-budgeted expenditures made by the Commonwealth – has been added to the Transparency Portal on Treasury’s website.
“Very few people know about Ledger 5 – and even fewer understand how it’s used. It sounds mysterious, and my goal is to get rid of the mystery by shining a spotlight on Ledger 5 to let people see what’s really going on. This new webpage explains the process and will highlight any spending that’s accounted for on Ledger 5, because I believe that transparency is essential to building public trust.”
Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity
Before Ledger 5 can be used, the Governor’s Office of the Budget must provide Treasury with documentation, known as an Expenditure Symbol Notification (ESN) memo, to explain and justify the expenditure. Treasury reviews the ESN memo and other expenditure documentation to ensure that the payment is legal and correct. All ESN memos will be posted on the new webpage.
The new webpage explains that Ledger 5 is used “to account for non-budgeted expenditures incurred during a fiscal year that are legally mandated or necessary to maintain public health, safety or welfare.”
“This is all taxpayer money, and taxpayers deserve to see how it’s being spent. Our Transparency Portal already makes a vast amount of state budget data instantly available online. Adding Ledger 5 is another big step forward.”
Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Stacy Garrity
The direct URL for the new Ledger 5 webpage is: https://patreasury.gov/transparency/ledger5.php
