With millions flowing to Maine from the stimulus package, the governor and lawmakers must make decisions for these funds in the most transparent, accountable way. Gov. John Baldacci has acted already by setting up a stimulus Web site to track its expense.

It’s a good idea, but more could be done. Public reporting of where the stimulus funds – maybe $1 billion – are going is one part of the process; the other part is ensuring that spending decisions made by the administration and Legislature are just as transparent.

Budgets and spending are backgrounds for policy battles. Often, combatants quarrel over funding because it’s scarce, but fierce fights also come when there’s more than enough. Now Maine, by virtue of its deficit and the stimulus, has both. Consider it a blessing, and a curse.

The plan for the stimulus involves sending it through the state’s financial agency – the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, under Commissioner Ryan Low.

Low has said two sets of books will be kept – one for the state, one for the stimulus – to track the funds of each. Given the billions his agency is responsible for managing, and under unprecedented political scrutiny, it’s arguable that the duty is big enough to divide.

The scope of the stimulus – and that it will be kept separate from state funds – almost begs for its own infrastructure project, within government, for managing its expenditure.

Massachusetts, for example, appointed a “stimulus czar” and a special joint legislative committee to oversee the money. Maine could form a similar body, drawing on expertise in its Legislature. One already exists for energy policy. Fiscal policy is now just as important.

A stimulus “czar” is overkill, but the idea that this game needs a referee is not. The governor must be ready to blow the whistle during the debate, to keep the players focused.

Rep. Sawin Millett, R-Waterford, has said lawmakers would be criticized for “the rest of (their) natural lives” if they mucked up the stimulus. That might be an understatement, as history would also likely be unkind. His thinking is right, though: There’s no time for mistakes.

We’re not suggesting lawmakers would allocate funding based on political influence – by building a bridge to North Haven, or something – but we do believe this process of filling the budget and managing the stimulus could overwhelm the systems Maine now uses. In the confusion, anything could happen. There is a deficit and a surplus, after all.

Interesting times are ahead.