Transparency in government

One of the sets of promises made to us by McDermott was improved transparency and accountability in Pocomoke government, specifically televised council meetings and a website. I am grateful that Pocomoke government now has a website, but it is not kept current and is way under-utilized. Council meetings are still not televised on public access television.

I have been researching transparency in government and found a wonderful slide presentation developed by UNPAN, the United Nations Public Administration Network:

http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan012062.pdf

This presentation provides clear, concise information about governmental transparency.

What is transparency:

Transparency is citizen access to a government's information to facilitate understanding of its decision making processes.

Some examples of ways to promote transparency:

Freedom of information acts,
Televised governmental meetings,
Published audit reports,
Free, fair elections.


Impediments to transparency:

Excessive rules,
Discretion without accountability,
Lack of timely, publicized information,
Information not available,
Lack of service culture.


Why is transparency important?

Provides accountability,
Serves as check against mismanagement and corruption,
Promotes public confidence,
Allows informed participation of citizens.

Transparency implies a PROACTIVE effort to make information accessible to citizens.
Transparency is a indicator of a government that is citizen-focused and service-oriented.

I will look at Pocomoke's government in the next several posts with these key points in mind. I welcome your comments as well.