Save this piece by Steve Hayward of The Weekly Standard, in which he lays out the unraveling of the climate change alarmism movement after years and years of boosterism from media outlets who were cheerleading rather than reporting. So why have governments ignored serious questions about the science and proposed interventions by government? JLF’s Roy [...]
Personal popularity is certainly helpful to a politician’s career, but policy positions DO matter. As Gallup illustrates, there is growing disapproval of President Obama’s performance in office.
The government of New South Wales in Australia feels that not enough housing is being built by private interests, so it is proposing to compulsorily take land from individuals to meet the demand.
Government bureaucrats say they need 25,000 homes per year to be built, but only 14,000 are being built. Thus the proposal to seize [...]
In Defense of (Most) Photojournalism Regardless of the recent examples of unethical photojournalism, most photographers have very high standards.
Will TTA Use Eminent Domain? Many in the Triangle fear the TTA will resort to Kelo-style eminent domain condemnations.
The Joke's on U In the new movie, "Accepted," a group of friends make up their own college after being rejected by real ones. The real joke is, the hoax college isn't any more outrageous than many real ones.
Fewer ABC boards proposed RALEIGH — The state’s top liquor regulator on Wednesday proposed shrinking the number of local ABC boards in the state through mergers and putting them under the thumb of county governments. Local elected officials would have to answer for how well their liquor stores operate. Jon Williams, chairman of the state ABC Commission, also recommended allowing private retailers to sell liquor in areas where there is not enough business to support a profitable ABC store.
Legality of closed vote in question RALEIGH — Wake County school board members ignored open-meeting requirements in state law when they voted behind closed doors to place Superintendent Del Burns on administrative leave, a First Amendment expert said Wednesday. Raleigh attorney Hugh Stevens, who has represented The News & Observer and many other media outlets in open-meetings cases, said the vote Tuesday should have taken place in public after members discussed Burns’ job status in closed session.
Raleigh area on edge after homicide RALEIGH — Uncertainty and fear have settled into a Raleigh neighborhood as police continue to search for a killer who beat a 62-year-old woman to death. Police silence about what happened to State Board of Education member Kathy A. Taft, as well as news that someone may have attempted to break into a home on the same day she was attacked, have only intensified uneasiness in the Wayland Heights neighborhood.
Durham looks to delay $8.3M rise in debt service tab DURHAM — City budgeteers are looking at whether they can somehow delay the onset of some $8.3 million in annual debt service costs as a counter to pressure for an increase in property taxes in the fiscal 2010-11 budget. The potential rise in debt payments — tied to a combined $130 million in bond issues city voters approved in 2005 and 2007 — is by far the largest single factor in the gap between predicted revenues and expenses for the upcoming budget.
Wake school board kicks Burns out of office RALEIGH — Wake Superintendent Del Burns, who until Tuesday ran one of the nation’s highest-profile school systems, will serve out his tenure on administrative leave for making what board members said were “totally inappropriate” public criticisms. Members announced after a closed meeting Tuesday night that Burns, 56, will remain available for consultation and will be paid until his previously announced resignation date of June 30.
Regulating the Regulators: Seven Reforms for Sensible Regulatory Policy in North Carolina The excessive regulatory power allowed by North Carolina imposes great costs on its citizens and businesses and hurts the economic competitiveness of the state. This report identifies seven reforms that North Carolina should adopt to improve the regulatory environment in the state.
Trust But Verify: Open government is better government Executive Summary
Governments have been seeking ways to adopt or advertise their efforts at open government, sunshine, and transparency. Recent history is rife, however, with examples of how they have failed – such as Gov. Mike Easley’s financial dealings and the hole in the state health plan.
Open government helps build trust with taxpayers. Tools that improve openness with taxpayers have also helped government officials and managers better use their resources. Some state and local governments found ways to save money through improved transparency.
Financial transparency is an important step toward open government. Online budgets, contracts, salaries, and check registers make information more accessible. Corporate financial statements provide a model in clarity and accessibility. Too many government documents are not searchable in any way. When tied to outcome measures such as test scores in education, this greater accessibility can provide better insight about which government programs work and which ones do not.
Process transparency opens the closed doors elected officials try to hide behind when drafting laws. Putting bills online 72 hours before debate and voting begin, instead of in the middle of the night the day of a vote, would leave fewer surprises in legislation. Five-year fiscal projections for state and local budgets would also make clear the impacts of program changes over time, not just for the year or two a budget is in effect. Governments should also take further steps to publicize their meetings beforehand, record their proceedings, and make minutes or archived recordings available online.
Regulatory transparency means making the proceedings of non-elected bodies as open as those of the legislature, county commissions, and town councils. Proposed regulations should be easier to find and understand for those with an interest. The state auditor or an independent body should perform any audits or performance reviews. Reviews should cover not just how well an agency or program accomplishes its mission, but also whether the mission is appropriate for government.
Why Transparency Matters
Open government is needed for a healthy democracy. Yet much of how government operates is unknown. Carolina Journal first reported on Gov. Easley’s financial dealings in 2006, but it took until Bev Perdue took office and opened state police records for details to emerge.
The state spent as much as $226 million in excess cost for mental health services over three years. It took months for the costs to become large enough to gain attention and the full extent of the problem was not realized until the legislature’s Program Evaluation Division presented its findings in July 2009. The $250 million hole for 2009 in the state health plan also caught legislators by surprise.
Open government builds trust and improves government operations. It can even save money, as witnessed in Texas, where the state comptroller found $73,000 dollars in savings just through cutting the number of contracts for toner cartridges.
There are many facets of open government. The John Locke Foundation created the web site NCTransparency.com to improve online fiscal transparency, and the response from local governments has been very promising. The Greensboro News & Record complained that Guilford County commissioners work behind closed doors too much. Guilford is not alone. Few governments broadcast their meetings online or on television. Fewer still post proposed ordinances, rule changes, or even agendas online in advance of their meetings. Open contracting with competitive bidding is another essential element of open government.
Making information accessible is about more than making it available. Citizens need to be able to understand it. Elected and unelected officials need to change their approach to information. It is not simply about responding to citizen requests for information. The problem is that government documents are often difficult to understand even for those who use them on a daily basis. Is it any wonder that few citizens ask for budget information when that information comes in a form that is almost unintelligible?
Asheville, for example, has its budget available in twelve sections plus a glossary. Wake County Commissioner Stan Norwalk voted against putting information online because he worried about both the cost of putting data online and the effect on county employees who would “be bombarded with so many requests for information … that they will spend too much time dealing with frivolous inquiries.”
The answer, however, is neither to avoid making the information available nor just to put it online in any format. The answer is to present the information online in a way that can be easily understood.
The remainder of this paper will examine the three aspects of open government – fiscal transparency, process transparency, and regulatory transparency. Each section will provide examples of what transparency means in that area, steps governments are taking to become more transparent, and opportunities to improve transparency.
Why Transparency? Creating trust in government Open government is just as important in a modern republic as it was two centuries ago. Larger bureaucratic states threatened to overwhelm the ability of citizens and their representatives to keep track of government. Revelations of corrupt government officials, fraud in various programs, subsidies to chosen groups or companies, and laws written by lobbyists still surface. Fortunately, more tools are available every day to make more information available from more governments to more people.
The John Locke Foundation is taking steps to help governments become more open. Our NCTransparency.com site helps taxpayers find government information online and gives grades for a quick check of how much is available for a state agency, local government, or school district. Our latest policy report on transparency provides three areas for improved transparency and some examples of what is already available.
This guide has four sections:
How to think about transparency
How to increase financial transparency
How to expand transparency to the process of governing
