Tuesday, September 14, 2010

ABQ View Not Bright Enough

from El Grito

Councilor Garduño: 'Sunshine' not bright enough
by george, September 9, 2010



Albuquerque, NM - District 6 City Councilor Rey Garduño sat down with us to compare the City Council transparency "sunshine bill" that he sponsored last year, which calls for transparency in city government, with the recently unveiled "sunshine portal" on the city's website, which is the Mayor's version of how to implement the City Council mandate.
Councilor Garduño noted that the new website meets the council's mandate for some things --like a list of all open capital outlay projects, as well as a list of employees and salaries.
However, the website fails to address a number of items in the City Council's legislation, including:
•An on-line template for the submission of public records requests
•A list of all existing IRBs, TIDDs, PIDs (tax breaks and incentives)
•A Quarterly Report for all operating funds
Councilor Garduño also explained that, contrary to the notion that the sunshine portal was a direct product of the Mayor's office, the new website is the result of many years of community input calling fortransparency.
Watch the video to hear Councilor Garduño explain what still needs to be done to accomplish true city government transparency.