Fiscal accountability is about to get a little easier in Hall County.

County officials say they will soon provide monthly updates on the government's spending via the county website.

The initiative is one of the county's new administrator, Randy Knighton, and is an effort to improve trust in the local government, said county spokeswoman Nikki Young.

"People need to know how we're spending their tax dollars, and it's the government's responsibility to tell them," Young said.

Assistant County Administrator Marty Nix said the monthly updates should be available on hallcounty.org by the new year after new Finance Director Vickie Neikirk gets settled in the job.

Neikirk joined the county this month, replacing Michaela Thompson who was fired with the county's top administrators when new commissioners joined the county's governing board in January.

The goal is to have a document online each month that shows residents how much each department has spent of its allotted amount, Nix said.

"I think it needs to be done because we're all about transparency in government," Nix said.

When Knighton was appointed to the county's top job in July, he laid out a list of priorities that included increasing transparency, Young said.

Knighton was promoted from the head of the county's planning department as the permanent replacement to former administrator Charley Nix.

His appointment came shortly after the county Board of Commissioners completed a grueling budget process in which

commissioners cut nearly $11.5 million in spending to balance them with waning revenues.

"(Knighton) felt like there was a lot of distrust out there through the budget process, and one way for the people to regain confidence in the government was to have the information ... so they know we're spending (taxpayers' dollars) responsibly," Young said.

The government has also begun using social media websites such as Facebook to connect with residents as well as sending out a regular electronic newsletter.

"We're trying to go to the people," Young said of the government's increased presence online.