Tag Archives: Transparency

Transparency for power companies?

Danny Orrock writes an op-ed in the AJC, Pro & Con: Do Georgia’s electric co-ops need better oversight?
Fundamental determinations like power rates and capital expenditures should not be made in the dark — if Georgia Power customers can participate, there’s no reason EMC customers shouldn’t have the same opportunity. Transparency benefits members and the utility. The situation at Cobb EMC would likely not be so contentious if members had been allowed to meaningfully engage with the board and management several years ago.
Sounds like a good idea, especially considering Cobb EMC is the one that wants to build a coal plant in Ben Hill County.

On the same page, Paul Wood argues that Continue reading →

What you didn’t hear at the County Commission meeting

The interesting commission meeting will be the next one. Remember, Chairman Paulk said they were still operating by the old rules at the meeting that happened this week. So next meeting they may actually refuse to let people speak on certain topics.

On the Frank Barnas Newstalk105.9 WVGA radio show 25 Jan 2011 the morning before the County Commission meeting, County Commmission Chairman Ashley Paulk complained that Citizens Wishing to be Heard has been abused and meetings are not free; there are people to pay.

“In these times we’ve got to run efficient meetings.”
Chairman Paulk also invoked Tuscon and said:
“You need to monitor people who are there.”

…

“You want a little better control over who and where they are.”

So posting videos of the meeting to the web should be a good idea so everyone could see what is going on.

And in the larger picture, should we be more concerned with a few dollars now or with the ability of citizens to be heard or for that matter with the long-term economics and health of the county?

Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to be Heard

The host asked if tonight would be the time to comment on the new policy, and Chairman Paulk responded: Continue reading →

Draft Resolution on Citizens Wishing to be Heard

Here’s the draft resolution on Citizens Wishing to be Heard. Previously we posted that on Tuesday’s Lowndes County Commission agenda is an item about:
5. Resolution Establishing Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to Be Heard and Consideration of Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to Be Heard
Today I went by the county palace (hey, they call it that, too!) and asked Paige Dukes, the County Clerk, what was in the old resolution and what’s in the new draft resolution. She said there was no old resolution, and a bit later she sent me the new draft resolution, which is in the PDF below.
From: “Paige Dukes” <paiged@lowndescounty.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:32:35 -0500
To: “John S. Quarterman” <jsq@quarterman.org>
Subject: Resolution Draft 1.24.2011.pdf – Adobe Acrobat Professional

Resolution Draft 1.24.2011.pdf

It’s a PDF of a scan of a paper page, so I don’t have the plain text. If somebody wants to type it in and send it to me, have at it.

See you 5:30 PM tomorrow evening (Tuesday 25 Jan 2011) at 327 N. Ashley Street, Valdosta, GA 31601. They start on the dot or slightly early, and it’s a light agenda, so be on time and don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

-jsq

No Work Session Today; County Commission still meets Tuesday

No work session today; regular session still on for 5:30 PM Tuesday 25 Jan 2011. The county website has under Special Events this notice:
Work Session Meeting Cancelled (1/24/2011)

PUBLIC NOTICE
COMMISSION MEETING
WORK SESSION CANCELLED

Due to the lack of agenda items requiring additional information or discussion, the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Work Session on Monday, January 24, 2011, has been cancelled.

The regular session meeting is still scheduled for
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at, 5:30 p.m.

327 N. Ashley Street
Valdosta, GA

For questions please call Paige Dukes at 229-671-2400.
This has happened several times before. Paige Dukes is the County Clerk.

See the previous post for the one unusual item on the agenda, about policies and procedures for Citizens Wishing to be Heard.

-jsq

County Commission Meetings Monday and Tuesday


left to right: Ashley Paulk (Chairman),
Joyce E. Evans (District 1),
Crawford Powell (District 3),
Richard Raines (District 2).
The next scheduled meetings of the Lowndes County Commission are:
  • 8:30 AM Monday January 24, 2011: work session
  • 5:30 PM Tuesday January 25, 2011: regular session
The agenda is posted on the county website. This meeting will probably be very brief, since it has no rezoning cases; those come every other meeting. This one is mostly contracts for consideration. However, there is this interesting item:
5. Resolution Establishing Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to Be Heard and Consideration of Lowndes County Board of Commissioners Policies and Procedures for Citizens Wishing to Be Heard

It also has the regular item:

7. Citizens Wishing to be Heard Please State Name And Address
This item is for the regular session, not the work session, although in the work session the Chairman sometimes notes somebody is there wanting to talk and asks them to say what they want to say. Conversely, in the regular session we don’t usually hear much from this one:
8. Reports-County Manager
The county manager often gives a longer report in the work session.

By “very brief” I mean work sessions typically run about 15 minutes, with the record being something like 8 minutes. And they start on time, or a minute early. Be there or miss what you want to hear or say.

-jsq

Stonewalling costs Erie County, NY

Matthew Spina writes in the Buffalo News, Fighting jail suit was costly to county: Bill for protecting records tops $27,000
The Chris Collins team last summer tried to block the New York Civil Liberties Union’s attempt to find out how much Erie County spends fending off jail-related lawsuits.

Collins’ county attorney at the time, Cheryl A. Green, refused to turn over a trove of county records that would answer the Civil Liberties Union’s questions. She was then brought into court and thumped so soundly Erie County was ordered to both turn over the documents and pay the opposition’s legal fees.

But Erie County also was paying $250 an hour to an outside law firm in its effort to keep those public records from public view. With that bill recently paid, the cost of the failed Collins-Green stonewall can now be tallied: $27,523.

Continue reading →

Open Government

White House press release:
The Open Government Directive, called for by President Obama on his first full day in office, puts accountability and accessibility at the center of how the federal government operates. It instructs agencies to share information with the public through online, open, accessible, machine-readable formats. Agencies are to inventory existing information and establish a timeline for publishing them online to increase agency accountability and responsiveness; improve public knowledge of the agency and its operations; further the core mission of the agency; create economic opportunity; or respond to need and demand as identified through public consultation.
Agency accountability and responsiveness! What a novel idea. Why I wonder if such a thing could be tailored to local governments?
Second, it aims to instill the values of transparency, participation, and collaboration into the culture of every agency by requiring every agency to formulate an Open Government Plan and website. Specifically, each agency will be required to develop its own, unique roadmap in consultation with the American people and open government experts, rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach. Once again, these ideas came directly from the public’s suggestions.
Government listening to the public’s suggestions? Local government department accountability? As Gandhi is reputed to have said about western civilization: “that would be a good idea!”