Local zoning board violates Pennsylvania Sunshine Act

Lower Merion Township chairman broke the law yesterday when he ordered Channel 6 News cameras to not film a public meeting. In the middle of a meeting disputing changes to St. Joseph’s baseball field, the chairman of the zoning board told reporters they could stay, but they had to turn their cameras off.

This was a direct violation of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act.

“It’s a public hearing but we don’t do that. We don’t want people to do that. It causes a zoo. We don’t want it to become a zoo,” said Zoning Board Chairman Kenneth Aaron, Esq.

When the journalists refused to turn off their cameras, the chairman called the police. The police sided with the chairman and ordered the cameras to be turned off. The journalists relented, turning off their cameras, but at the cost of government transparency.

Municipalities face budget woes

From California to Pennsylvania, local municipalities are facing crippling financial woes. This week Maywood, CA will be the first city to terminate all public employee jobs, including the police department. On the brink of bankruptcy, the city is trying to regain ground by outsourcing all of its work.

Maywood has also not be very forthcoming with its financial data, having not posted any information since 2008. Overall, the city scored a “D” on Sunshine Review’s transparency checklist.

Then there is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The capital of Pennsylvania is just over $68 million in the hole, more than its annual budget. Harrisburg is not only asking creditors to forgive or restructure old debt, but is also considering cutting 537 public sector jobs.

However, unlike Maywood, Harrisburg has been very forthcoming with its financial data, and earned a “C” transparency grade from Sunshine Review.

Looking at these two situations, one can see transparency is not enough. While many elements have contributed to the cities financial troubles, it could have been averted by vocal taxpayers. Yet, taxpayers had access to the data in Harrisburg, and many remained silent on the matter.

This is a clear example that while transparency is a tool citizens can use to hold their government accountable, but without active citizen watchdogs we’ll continue to see crisises like these. There remains a great need for local involvement by constituents. We can not be so focused on the federal level that we forget to look after our homes.

Throw the bums out!

The Pottsmerc.com editor has an ax to grind- with corrupt incumbent Pennsylvania legislators. In response to a poll taken by Quinnipiac University, 3 out of 4 Pennsylvania residents do not believe the legislature will take steps to improve ethics in their state capitol. The poll was taken in the wake of the Bonusgate scandal.

Therein lies the real danger in such scandals — as well as the possible solution.

People get so discouraged with the process, they begin to withdraw altogether. They shrug their shoulders, roll their eyes. Another day, another scandal in Harrisburg.
…
It was just a few years ago when voters, outraged over a pay raise voted by the Legislature in the wee hours of the morning, took out their revenge in a more practical manner. First they vented their spleen. They demonstrated. They wrote letters. They held protests at the state Capitol. Then they got serious. They voted.

A lot of politicians didn’t even wait for the dust to settle. They left Harrisburg before they could be shown the door in the primaries. Several longtime pols who dared appear on the ballot were unceremoniously dumped from office.

It’s time for voters to get involved one more time. Three of four people in the state do not believe the Legislature will take the necessary steps to clean up their act.

Citizens should do it for them. At the voting booth.

This is sound advice for many, many -too many- cities. Voters of New Orleans, Chicago, Youngstown, Detroit.. are you listening???

Pennsylvania’s Searchable Contract Database Unveiled

Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin L. Wiessmann opened a new searchable transparency site yesterday that allows taxpayers access to information on state contracts. The database was created to comply with PA’s new Right-to-Know Law signed into law early this year.

According to the WSJ, the database seems to have been carefully crafted for usability.

To aid in public use of the database, the Pennsylvania Treasury Department is requiring agencies to supply summaries with every contract for easier access and identification. In addition, when searching for a contract, the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library will also provide links to any related contracts, such as amendments or purchase orders, to allow users to more readily track the evolution of an agency’s transactions with a particular vendor.
The Pennsylvania Treasury Department launched the Pennsylvania Contracts e-Library in just four months by holding focus groups with users and building the online portal for the database.

Additional parts of the Right-to-Know legislation will be enacted on Jan 1, 2009.

Weekend Round-up

Here’s my transparency weekend round-up:

Connecticut: The bill I mentioned here became law last week with Gov. Jodi Rell’s signature on the steps of the Capitol, where she took her oath of office. The legislation allowing a judge to reduce or revoke the pension of a corrupt public official will go into effect October 1. More from Newsday.com.

Ohio: The Buckeye Institute released a podcast with Americans for Prosperity’s Jack Boyle that discusses transparency and fiscal restraint.

Pennsylvania: Legislation advanced in the Senate to require all taxpayer-funded advertising to include the dislaimer “Paid for with Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars.” Read more here.

Louisiana: Indicted Congressman William Jefferson defies ethics advocates by running for re-election.

Hope you’re looking forward to another great week of transparency reporting.

Pennsylvania state senate gets a little clearer

Public Opinion Online lauds the Pennsylvania state Senate for the online release of its legislative journals going back to 1993. The journals contain records of floor votes and debates. It also calls for additional transparency within the state’s government.

When it comes to transparency, government on all levels should go the extra mile to ensure the public has the information it needs. Whenever this is not done, those in government should have a good reason.

It is no secret that government officials, elected, hired or appointed, often operate as though they’re part of a secret society. Many forget they work for taxpayers.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry once said: “Government that is open and honest will always be able to withstand the light of day.”

With more efforts along the lines of those we’ve already seen, such as the new open records law, we hope this could someday be said of the government in Pennsylvania.

In a bipartisan press release, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25) said, “This is another step in our ongoing effort to make the Senate’s activity more transparent to the public. It is a natural outgrowth of our new rules and our new attitude.”

If you want to check out the newly released journals, please click here.