Ward makes proposals to increase transparency in government
This in via e-mail from the Stephen Ward for Toledo City Council campaign:
Ward Calls For Transparency In City Government
Toledo, OH – In light of the current financial crisis that Toledo is in, we must implement a system of checks and balances that will hold city government accountable to the citizens. There must be a strong commitment to a transparent, accountable and open government that will ensure that the taxpayers have access to the financial information of the city of Toledo.
Ward says, “As your city councilman, I would propose that we immediately implement a web-based system that will provide access to information about Toledo revenues and expenditures. I believe this system should be free and searchable, and while providing protection of privacy, safety and security, this web-based system should allow taxpayers to see where their money is going and how it’s spent. I believe the use of public funds should always be public, and the citizens should know exactly how it is being spent.”
In addition, the city of Toledo must move to a Zero-based budgeting system. Every department function must be reviewed comprehensively and all expenditures must be approved. Ward states, “The city must budget every dollar received. We must find cost effective ways to improve operations while identifying and eliminating wasteful spending. By measuring the level and quality of services citizens received for each dollar spent, we can measure the efficiency of providing each service. The budget must serve as a check on administrative operations. Currently the mayor can spend $10,000 without council approval. I will work to get that reduced to $4,000, and in addition there should be absolutely no modifications to the mayor’s office…such as installation of showers, without getting a majority vote from city council.”
Lastly, in order for this system to be effective it must provide access to information about the revenues and expenditures of Toledo. It must provide the citizens the opportunity to view information by doing a departmental search, type of spending search, and a vendor search.
Ward asserts, “Government solely exists to serve its people! We must continue to strive for more transparency in government. We must get to the root of the problem, which is government not being accessible to the people. It is time for a change. It is time for Toledo to go back to the basic principles of government, which is serving the citizens.”
Glad to know the Dems believe in the transparency proposed for our city government that mayoral candidate, Jim Moody does…
He’s the one who mentioned the transparency issue first, if I do recall…
Keep up the good work, Jim! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
May 31st, 2009 at 9:22 pmFirst this election season possibly, but there have been a long line of others who have ran on similar ideas that included transparency and zero based or citizen based budgeting.
May 31st, 2009 at 9:25 pmYes, and king obama promised transparency.
Not happening.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:33 amThank God we finally have a serious council candidate that sees the big picture. Government needs to start working for the people. We have a president who is committed to it and now we need it at the local level.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:29 pm