Several weeks ago, I began ticking off numerous deficiencies in Northampton County's new website, which has had the effect of making government less transparent and accountable. Years of minutes of Council meetings just vanished. The $91,000 a year clerk refuses to include back-up documents on agendas. And though there are pretty pictures of the nine Council members, no contact information is listed.
Since my initial complaints, Council has managed to include minutes dating back to 2005, but the rest are still being kept away from the preying eyes of the public. Those old minutes were quite useful during the swaption discussion, as everyone tried to blame everyone else. Now our county government seems to think that what you don't know won't hurt you, even if it does.
Most amazing of all, no effort has been made to include the contact information of individual Council members. I would never expect to see home addresses and home phone numbers listed, but there should at least be a county email address listed.
This is basic transparency. Council's refusal to provide this basic information is something you should keep in mind when five of them seek re-election this year.
Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
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Friday, January 13, 2017
10 comments:
You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.
The older minutes are reportedly available electronically, but only to people who work for the county (how useless is that to the public?). You can file a RTK request, and go and read them in a book. They don't have a computer terminal you can use.
ReplyDeleteThey plan to "drop off" a year every time they add a new year. So soon, you won't be able to see 2005 minutes unless you want to thumb through binders. Stupid!!!
Go away. Leave us alone!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKKraft@northamptoncounty.org
ReplyDeleteThey don't need to be contacted because they know what you need. Even if they had an e-mail address, they wouldn't return it. It's called self preservation at the least.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet they see a lot of ads for penis enlargement if those addresses are publicized. Then, they'll speak softly and carry a bigger stick.
ReplyDeleteBut, Bernie, the county just rolled out their brand new website! And it's a great website! It's one of the best! Let me tell you, they know how to put together a great website. And that website designer is one of the best in the business. They have the best people on it. They know what's best. Who actually designed the website? County Council didn't. Heck, the County Executive probably had little input, except for maybe picking his favorite color. I'll bet few, if any, county employees had anything to do with the website and that the designer wouldn't be interested in their opinions if they did. When the county contracts out a job, that contractor doesn't want your input, they tell you what you need, they tell you what is best, and you don't challenge them, because that's why you pay them, so you don't have to think about it.
ReplyDeleteThe new website was prepared by the county's IT contractor, who did speak to all the departments. Brown wants department heads to update the web in their own. It is nothing short of a disgrace. Council has been made aware that their contact information is not out there bc I have made them aware. They have not done a damn thing. I frankly think they don't care. Maybe this is something that voters can remind them about at the ballot box.
ReplyDeleteWhy were Kraft's remarks removed by you?
ReplyDeleteI did not remove anything. Ken removed his first comment, likely bc it is the wrong email address. You will notice that it says, "The comment has been removed by the author," i.e. the person submitting it. If I had removed it, it would say the comment had been removed by an administrator. Why would I remove his attempt to give his email addy?
ReplyDelete