CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald aims to open the inner workings of county government to the public by posting contracts and purchases online.

From computer consultants to bilingual election signs, the expenses are now listed on the county's website, fulfilling FitzGerald's campaign promise to increase government transparency.

To access the site, go to www.cuyahogacounty.us/ and click on "Open & Transparent Government" on the left side of the screen.

Creation of the site coincides with outrage over the long-awaited Juvenile Justice Center, which has morphed from a $50 million detention center to a $189 million court complex, complete with a $23,000 custom conference table.

Such pricey furnishings never would have survived if the county's contracts had been easily accessible last year, FitzGerald said

"It's the public's checkbook, and they should be able to see what they're writing checks for," FitzGerald said Thursday. "It was so opaque and difficult to penetrate under the old system that something like this slipped through."

The County Council welcomes the openness, said Democratic Councilman Dale Miller, who chairs the finance committee. So do good-government advocates, who, during the transition to the executive-led government, pushed for a one-stop information shop for voters.

"It gives people an opportunity to find out about public business without having to go downtown and talk to somebody," Miller said. "I think every positive step like this is a building block. . . . A step at a time, we'll rebuild confidence."

While purchase orders and contracts have always been public information, the documents under the old regime were kept in different departments, led by independently elected officials.

So contracts such as $21.4 million in deals for commercial property appraisal with V.A.S. Enterprises received little scrutiny. Years later, a federal corruption investigation ransacked county government, and a study concluded V.A.S. did only about $9 million in work.

"It's kind of a hallmark of the corruption scandal that things were done in a secretive way, and sunshine is the best disinfectant for it," FitzGerald said.

The executive's staff has been working on the website since January, researching best practices of other governments. FitzGerald plans to keep adding to the site and making improvements, such as making the data searchable.

For now, the site includes lists of products purchased, the county agency that ordered the products, the supplies and the cost. For contracts, copies of the agreements are also posted.

Purchase orders are organized by date, while contracts are divided by who authorized them -- the council or FitzGerald.

FitzGerald said the glut of information will help not only county citizens, but also companies that want to do business with the county.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: ljohnsto@plaind.com, 216-999-4115