{"id":4561,"date":"2013-04-11T08:33:57","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T12:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/?p=4561"},"modified":"2013-05-01T06:52:53","modified_gmt":"2013-05-01T10:52:53","slug":"the-open-government-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ianchadwick.com\/blog\/the-open-government-report\/","title":{"rendered":"The open government report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Accountability<\/a>On Monday’s agenda, council received a 21-page report<\/strong> from the clerk on the nature and mechanics of open government in Collingwood. This comprehensive report, titled the “Accountability and Transparency Policy,” because it also introduced a revised, formal policy,\u00a0listed all of the bylaws, policies and legislation by which council and staff operate.<\/p>\n

This is such an important and useful report that I felt it worthwhile to extract it from the April 13 agenda and make it available separately here<\/a>. If you have not read it, or have any questions about how a council works and the rules that guide us, it’s worth reading. It opens by defining two terms:<\/p>\n

Accountability:<\/strong> The principle that the municipality is obligated to demonstrate and take responsibility for its actions, decisions and policies and that it is answerable to the public at large.
\nTransparency:<\/strong> The principle that the municipality will conduct its business in an accessible, clear and visible manner and that its activities are open to examination by its stakeholders.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report than goes on to further define how the municipality achieves these goals and why they are important:<\/p>\n

Accountability, transparency and openness are standards of good government that enhance public trust. They are achieved through the Town of Collingwood adopting measures ensuring,\u00a0to the best of its ability, that all activities and services are undertaken utilizing a process that is open and accessible to its stakeholders. In addition, wherever possible, the Town of\u00a0Collingwood will engage its stakeholders throughout its decision making process which will be open, visible and transparent to the public.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report then provides a comprehensive list of how we currently comply with the requirements, as well as what we do to enhance and better them:<\/p>\n

The Town of Collingwood currently complies with a host of legislation, policies and procedures\u00a0that maintain an open and transparent decision-making process. For the purposes of the Policy,\u00a0the Town\u2019s various policies, procedures and practices have been divided into the following\u00a0categories:
\n1. Legislated Requirements
\n2. Financial Accountability, Oversight and Reporting
\n3. Performance Measurement and Reporting
\n4. Open Government
\n5. Internal Accountability and Ethical Standards<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I won’t repeat all of the material that follows, but will include the section about “open government” which is really about local governance and the policies and procedures we already have in place to achieve this openness:<\/p>\n

Open Government<\/strong>
\nThe following are policies, procedures and practices that ensure the Town is transparent \u00a0in its operations and that residents are not only aware of how decisions are made and carried out, but that they are able to participate as well:<\/p>\n