Jordan-Elbridge Central school district ignores public records laws

The Jordan-Elbridge Central school district in New York is being sued for failing to comply with the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law.

The situation began when Superintendent Marilyn Dominick abruptly quit two years before her contract was up. Then blatantly ignoring her conflict of interest, shot down public records requests for her severance package.

The school district didn’t stop there, but instead made a deal behind closed doors of who would be the new interim superintendent. The school district even announced it in a newsletter two prior in a newsletter. The district insists the newsletter is was “badly worded“, but didn’t make any motions to correct it. Now the principal of the Jordan-Elbridge Central High School is suing for the violation.

The school district scored a “B-” according to our Transparency Checklist. This is yet another example of why transparency must be a multi-pronged movement. It’s shameful the school district thought they could get away this behavior.

New York AG candidates: I’m more transparent than you are!

One interesting phenomena is candidates for public office trying to out-transparency the other guy. New York state attorney general candidates Daniel Donovan (R) and Eric Schneiderman (D) are doing just that. Donovan is proposing transparency in spending, and Schneiderman is calling him out for weak promises.

According to Staten Island Real-Time News, Donovan proposed an increase in transparency for “taxpayer-funded member item allocations, which make up for $170 million in lawmaker spending on special projects.” Donovan, currently the Staten Island District Attorney, proposes requiring lawmakers to provide documentation proving no conflict of interest in order to limit the funneling of money towards pet projects and organizations they were already involved with.

“New Yorkers should have every faith that their tax dollars are being allocated to not-for-profit organizations that are providing critical services in our communities, not to organizations being used as the personal piggy bank for politicians who have long forgotten who they were elected to serve.”

This would seemingly include transparency in membership to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations. These associations are generally nonprofits and they lobby on behalf of their members, which are public officials. Public officials either use money from their public offices or their governments to cover the cost of membership in these associations and, in return, disclose little about the activities and costs of membership. So while taxpayers are funding the projects of these groups, we have little say in whether we approve or not.

Donovan’s Democratic opponent Eric Schneiderman responded:

“It’s nice to see Republican Dan Donovan finally take an interest in reform issues for the first time now that he’s running for office. But Eric Schneiderman has been a leading reformer for years, leading the charge to expel a corrupt senator for the first time in history, and writing the most sweeping ethics reform legislation in a generation.”

If only upping the ante on transparency were this popular all the time. Speaking of transparency, check out State Budget Solutions’ take on it here: State Budget Crises Won’t Just Dissapear. (Hint: There’s government transparency, and then there’s Caspar-the-Ghost transparency.)

NYC 2.0: Public data access hearing to address open data accesibility and usability

The New York City Council is holding a hearing today to establish open data standards. All city agencies will be in attendance.

The hearing is based on a bill, Introduction 029-2010 (formerly Intro. 991-2009), which was drafted in an effort to increase government transparency and facilitate access to public data. More access means more interaction between government and citizens. The bill will require the City to create a centralized online repository of all publicly available information either produced or retained by the City. Data published under this legislation must be posted in a format that will be readable by any computer device, whether that is a laptop or a phone.

One important question that needs to be addressed is how the information will be delivered. Along with information comes the responsibility of delivering it to consumers. If data isn’t usable, then more data can actually be a burden. However, the benefit of this legislation is that citizens get more information, but technology-centered businesses will also have the opportunity to display their goods. Socrata, social data experts, note the legislation has more than good government benefits:

*The bill will unlock city data enabling web developers and entrepreneurs to interact with City government in new ways.
*Data published under this legislation will be readable by any computer device for innovative developments.

The benefits so far are: More access, re-energizing of technology sectors, more government involvement, and ultimately cheaper data. Digital Democracy, a nonprofit based out of New York, will focus its testimony on the benefits open data in real time will have for students. “Young people would be engaged in meaningful ways with the world around them.”

Another testimony comes from the Manhattan Institute, which urges the proactive disclosure of information by governments. They suggest posting responses to the state’s Freedom of Information Act, the New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), online so that the requester can have an easy to work with digital response, and other citizens can benefit from the availability of the information requested.

In the spirit of Gov 2.0, the hearing is being livecast. Let us know what your favorite panels are and what ideas you think can benefit your city.

New York: Home of the transparency trifecta

Sometimes a situation has to get really bad before it gets noticed and a number of people work to clean it up. That is apparently what is going on with ethics in New York, as transparency sites are popping up in record numbers. (In case you’re not paying attention, that’s a good thing.)

The newest kid on the block is Open Book New York, a site by state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. It has expanding databases for expenditures for counties, cities, schools, and fire districts as well as state contracts and agency spending.

The one temporary drawback of the site, according to The Daily Messenger, is a lack of recent facts and figures.

Regrettably, local government spending is available only up to 2006. The comptroller’s office said it takes time to finalize budget numbers sent in by municipalities, but hopes to provide newer data at some point. That would be useful. DiNapoli also plans to include local property tax burdens and financial information from local public authorities.

It’s great to have the transparency trifecta of Open Book NY, See Through NY, and Project Sunlight.

New York: The new windy city?

New York state seeks to produce 25% of its energy from renewable sources by 2013. Great goal- it reduces our dependence on foreign oil, helps use new technologies for clean energy, and develops a renewable resource. What’s not to love? Call me crazy, but maybe it’s the palm greasing, conflicts of interest, and corruption involved with closing the deals with local town boards.

According to the Democrat and Chronicle, Franklin County District Attorney Derek Champagne investigated allegations of corruption and found seven town board members that had conflicts of interest in his one county. Town boards have the ultimate say in whether wind farms come to their communities, and some board members have made the unfortunate choice of seeking to lease their own land to wind farm companies. Critics wonder if wind energy companies are actively seeking to do business with town board members in order to facilitate approval for their proposals.

With Champagne’s assistance, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is now getting involved.

Champagne has turned over his cardboard box of documents on cases across the state to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Last week, Cuomo issued subpoenas to two of New York’s major wind-farm developers, saying that “if dirty tricks are used to facilitate even clean-energy projects, my office will put a stop to it.”

The investigation comes as wind-farm companies are lining up at town halls with deep pockets and the promise of economic development for governments starved for new revenue to fund schools, fix roads and pay for emergency services.

So what is the moral of this all-too-familiar story? All taxpayer-sponsored programs need to be open to public scrutiny, and elected officials need to be held accountable when they have ethical lapses. Visit Sunshine Review to shed some light on your community.