Tax Payer Transparency and Citizen Engagement
The City Council structure was designed to include citizen input. However, the reality has seemed to not live up to the promise of our local city government structure. City Council is elected by the public, and so should be accountable to the public.
Push to create real-time public dashboard tracking council votes, city spending, and contract awards. Residents should always know how their tax dollars are spent
Challenge any additional funding or scope reduction to existing infrastructure projects such as Project Connect without clear reporting on the existing spend and path to promised outcomes.
Expand the city council comments from the current 10 speakers per meeting limit to a number reflective for a city of over one million. Invite proposals to increase slots and allow overflow written testimony to be read into the record.
Extend the comment window earlier in the process. There should be more opportunities to provide public comment before agenda items are finalized, not just at the meeting itself, so residents can participate in shaping decisions rather than reacting with anxiety to them.