UPDATE 10:05am | The Long Beach City Council voted last night to direct City Manager Pat West to look into the costs that would be required to increase openness and transparency on the city’s web site.
The Council approved two items, the first to examine the creation of an Open Government Policy Initiative and the second to add detailed public information to the city web site, as well as adding public commenting features during live City Council meeting broadcasts. Both items were co-sponsored by councilmembers Robert Garcia and Gerrie Schipske, and both items were approved by a 6-0 vote (Lowenthal, DeLong and O’Donnell not present).
Schipske referenced an organization that grades cities on the openness and transparency of their web sites, and noted that both San Diego and Los Angeles recently received an A+. She estimated that Long Beach would currently receive about a B grade.
“Right now we’re almost there, I think we just have maybe a little bit more to go,” she said.
That little bit could include efforts to share City contracts and other public information files, and make them more readily accessible to the public.
“I’ve found that the more information you give our residents, the more involved they get,” she said. “They see that we are sharing as much info as we have and there is really no secret in what we’re trying to grapple with.”
2:49pm Tuesday | Continuing what is apparently “What does the public have a right to know?” week at the Long Beach Post, the City Council will tonight hear a series of Open Government Initiatives that will make certain information much more accessible and give constituents greater access to local government.
Councilmembers Robert Garcia and Gerrie Schipske have placed two motions on tonight’s agenda that propose the adoption of an open governement policy statement. Some changes that could arise from the motion are the online posting of completed City contracts, a system for interactive public comments online during City Council meetings, new information about the budget and lobbyists on the City website, and access to government records and public documents.
“Since coming to City Council I have tried to take the Thomas Jefferson approach to local government,” said Schipske. “He said quite clearly that ‘Information is the currency of Democracy’ and it should be our approach as well here in Long Beach.”
A recent press release touts both councilmembers’ willingness to remain open to the public, noting their practice of posting calendars online and last year cosponsoring the city’s lobbyist registration law.
“Openness in government is what makes democracy possible,” Garcia said. “Citizens have a right to a transparent and accessible government.”
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