Texas Comptroller lauds City of College Station with Transparency Stars Trailblazer Award

2 min read

(L-R), Anita Dorsey (CoCS Controller), Mary Ellen Leonard (Director of Fiscal Services), Glenn Hager (Texas Comptroller) Rachel Bounds (CoCS Staff Accountant), and Teryn McGuiness (CoCS Financial Systems Accountant).

“Texans deserve transparency in how their tax dollars are being spent, and the City of College Station has gone the extra mile in opening its books to the public. Democracy can’t survive and thrive unless citizens have the information to make informed decisions at the voting booth.”
Glenn HegaR, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

By Mary Ellen Leonard, Director of Fiscal Services

College Station residents have the right to know how their tax dollars are managed, and the Finance Department has taken significant steps to ensure the City’s financial information is readily available and easy to understand.

As a result of that steadfast commitment to the highest standards of transparency, openness, and accountability, the City of College Station has been honored with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ Transparency Stars Trailblazer Award.

Winners of the prestigious award must open their books in traditional finances, contracts and procurement, economic development, public pensions, debt obligations, and open government and compliance. They must also provide clear and meaningful financial information by posting financial documents, thorough summaries, visualizations, downloadable data, and other relevant information.

The Financial Transparency webpage on the city website includes annual financial reports, budgets, check registers, and other pertinent financial data organized in a user-friendly format. College Station is one of 11 local governments that earned all six Transparency Stars to achieve Trailblazer status.

About the Blogger

Mary Ellen Leonard has been the city’s director of fiscal services since 2016. She previously was the chief financial officer for the Grub Burger Bar restaurant chain and operated her accounting firm for 14 years. A CPA since 1988, Mary Ellen has also served as a senior manager at Accenture and Arthur Andersen, CFO at Devereux Hospital, and senior financial analyst at Tenneco Gas Pipeline. She earned a degree in accounting from Texas A&M in 1986.

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