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RALEIGH – Gov. Bev Perdue began work on changing the face of government in North Carolina after being sworn in this weekend as the state’s first female governor.

Monday morning, Perdue signed five executive orders into law. One order will make it easier for taxpayers to access records online of how taxpayer dollars are being spent by government. Another order looks to make gubernatorial campaigning more positive and less costly. An accountability order means surprise inspections of state agencies.

Perdue has committed to conducting ongoing town hall meetings and is also creating a citizen oversight panel to check how tax dollars are being used.

Meanwhile, one of the more talked about changes on Perdue’s first day was to take away some powers of the Department of Transportation Board. The governor will be turning those powers over to a new transportation secretary.

Perdue says some might not like the change, but as she appoints the board, those who wish to remain part of it will have to live with the decision.

“So if somebody decides they are willing to serve on the DOT board, they’re going to know the rules and the game plan,” said Perdue. “The game plan is for them to become the strategic planning body and the game plan is to take them out of the specific approval process leg and that becomes a professional decision based on data.”

Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said he believes Perdue's executive order was necessary to start to renew people's confidence in the DOT.

"I think in the decisions that are made every day, I think you show people that you've changed the way business is done and over time you rebuild that confidence," Conti said. "It's not something you can wave a magic wand and accomplish."

Conti and his fellow cabinet appointees were sworn in Monday. Perdue said they will all have a tough road ahead.

"I'm going to depend on you to help rebuild the economy, to help us protect the environment and our children and to help us all become healthier North Carolinians," Perdue said.