The sentencing of former Bell, California, city manager Robert Rizzo to 12 years in state prison after being found guilty of 69 charges of public corruption underscores the critical need for local government transparency and advocacy of a culture of ethics within local organizations, according to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and its official California state affiliate, CAL-ICMA.
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The Chicago Tribune reports that advisers to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel were closely involved with the development of certain scenes in CNN's "Chicagoland" documentary, which aired its final eighth episode Thursday evening.
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Read More… from ‘Chicagoland’ Producers Worked With Mayor Emanuel’s Team On Doc via FOIA requests
A Charleston attorney predicts the state Supreme Court’s ruling will have a “chilling effect” on West Virginia’s residents seeking public documents through FOIA requests.
The 4-1 ruling, issued April 10, effectively clears the way for government organizations to charge hourly fees to fulfill requests for public documents filed through the Freedom of Information Act.
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Read More… from Charleston attorney criticizes Supreme Court allowance of FOIA fees
When it comes to having an open-and-transparent government that is accountable to the people, Florida truly leads the nation. Since the Florida Government-in-the-Sunshine Law was enacted in 1967, Florida has served as a model for other states.
In a world where technological advancements have introduced even more material into the public record, we continue to be on the cutting edge of reforms.
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Read More… from Florida League of Cities President says Keep Florida Government in the Sunshine
The state Supreme Court has ruled that government agencies can charge an hourly fee for locating public documents requested under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The court ruled 4-1 in a decision released Thursday.
The justices overturned a Kanawha County circuit judge’s ruling that said the city of Nitro didn’t have the authority to enact an ordinance to establish an hourly search fee for documents. The circuit judge had concluded the city could only charge for the cost of copying the documents, but the Supreme Court disagreed.
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Read More… from W.Va. Supreme Court allows fee for FOIA records searches
Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu filed an ordinance aimed at providing greater transparency on municipal data. Right now, Boston has an open data portal, but the data on that site only shows information obtained through Freedom of Information Act obligations. The new ordinance would resemble other open data policies in cities nationwide, by disclosing datasets without first requiring a FOIA request.
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Read More… from Boston City Councilor Wants Real Open Data For The City
Serving as a continuation from the most recent Belding City Council meeting on March 18, residents again voiced their concerns and disappointment Tuesday evening with respect to members of the council and City Manager Meg Mullendore.
The meeting followed a similar theme of two weeks ago, fueled by disgruntled citizens who again addressed their concerns during the meeting’s public comment period, which lasted nearly 35 minutes.
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Read More… from Belding (MI) citizens again voice displeasure of city council, city manager
The Illinois Policy Institute has released the latest round of Local Transparency Project audit results, this time measuring the transparency levels of some of Illinois’ largest municipalities.
IPI just completed an audit of the websites of the 26th through 50th largest municipalities in the state. Online transparency levels varied wildly from community to community. Scores ranged from Lombard’s perfect 100 percent to Romeoville’s dismal 29.7 percent.
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Read More… from City of Quincy (IL) gets failing grade in online transparency
Many public officials have decided just saying no to requests for government documents is not the best way to keep them secret. Indirect assaults on the public's right to know are better, they believe. That way they cannot be accused of disobeying freedom of information laws.
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Santa Rosa's Open Government Task Force has finished selecting its members and set its first meeting for April 3.
Vice Mayor Robin Swinth and Councilwoman Erin Carlstrom are heading the 11-member task force, which is charged with producing a report about the city's commitment to open and transparent government.
“I think the panel represents a group of people with diverse backgrounds who are going to add a lot to this discussion,” Swinth said Tuesday.
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Read More… from Santa Rosa (CA) selects members for open government task force
