I just re-read this Carroll County Times Editorial for Tuesday, March 17, 2009. The focus of much of the conversation in the community this year is once again how “exciting” the budget process will be in Westminster this year.
In the last several years it has been the object of great secrecy, drama, and opaque politics of ginormous byzantine proportions.
To be certain the budget will once again be just as difficult as ever, yet city officials have garnered little in the way of sympathy in that the last several years the attitude of city officials has been obdurate, obstinate, boorish, mean-spirited, and adversarial. And that is just for starters…
In the last several years it has been the object of great secrecy, drama, and opaque politics of ginormous byzantine proportions.
To be certain the budget will once again be just as difficult as ever, yet city officials have garnered little in the way of sympathy in that the last several years the attitude of city officials has been obdurate, obstinate, boorish, mean-spirited, and adversarial. And that is just for starters…
As Carroll’s municipal and county governments begin the process of working through the next fiscal year’s budget, utilizing their Web sites to ensure that the public has easy access to budget documents is an easy way to encourage more citizen input.
Some government bodies in Carroll do a better job than others in encouraging public participation. A few post their proposed budgets online, where residents can easily access them. Others make residents jump through hoops to get what should be a common public document.
[…]
In some cases, Carroll’s municipal officials have even actively tried to block the public from seeing budget information. [I’ll bet the editorial writer is referring to the city of Westminster – for which the budget process has been shrouded in intrigue and incompetence for the last three years…] In one case a few years back, a municipal government wouldn’t even allow residents the opportunity to see the proposed budget until the night of the public hearing on the budget. Needless to say there wasn’t much informed comment from the citizenry.
In a more recent example, a municipality kept putting off releasing the proposed budget. “We’re still making changes,” they said. Well gee, since it was a proposed budget most people would expect changes to be made. The dodge was simply a way for the government to avoid letting people know how their tax dollars were being spent until after the budget was adopted and it was too late for them to raise concerns. The economic crisis this year has everyone reeling. From the state to the county to Carroll’s municipal governments, officials everywhere are trying to figure out how to stretch tax dollars, what things can be cut and what needs to be funded.
Read the entire editorial here: Share budget info online
20090317 Share budget info online ccted
Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/
Kevin Dayhoff Art: www.kevindayhoff.com (http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/)
