Keeping secrets from you
"The balance between disclosure and secrecy can be difficult to strike . . . Yet there are many symptoms that the current government policies fundamentally skew toward secrecy in a manner that can only injure the public interest." David Stewart, president, Freedom to Write Fund, 2006.
Our ongoing reader research tells us that readers care most about how their tax dollars are spent. Decisions regarding public money that are made behind closed doors are frequently suspect. The doors are closed a lot and neither you nor journalists who are there watching on your behalf can know for sure what's going on or whether your best interests are part of the conversation. Local governments are in the process of setting new tax allocations between now and mid summer. If you want to know what's happening to your pocketbook, watch closely.
Though it wasn't done in secret, I would like the justification of MB councils upcoming 37-40% pay raises. Wasn't just in the last year or so they gave themselves a raise (technically) by changing the workshop for meetings to the same day as the council meeting in essence cutting in half the time they spent doing the cities business which they sought out and volunteered to do? There must be plenty of extra cash in the coffers to be able to give such a high percentage boost to their own pockets.
There are lots of other places these monies could be used.
Posted by: Stay Informed | May 23, 2007 at 08:56 AM