“Achieve Anything” 1 Transparency Florida Government Finance Officer’s Association November 20, 2013
“Achieve Anything” 2 So you want Transparency? Are you sure? Hopefully that means you think you know what transparency means to you. What is it?
“Achieve Anything” 3 If you ask me anything I don't know, I'm not going to answer. Attributed to Yogi Berra
“Achieve Anything” 4 Transparency, what it is not Free access for everyone at any time for anything A fancy website Live online meetings Free records
“Achieve Anything” 5 These are a part of the government solution to transparency, but not the whole picture.
“Achieve Anything” 6 Transparency, what is it? State of mind. Philosophy has to be top down before it can be systematic in the organization. It is an expressed intent to show that there is nothing to hide.
“Achieve Anything” 7 Lessons Learned Transparency has no value if the information is not correct. Notification fatigue (Bob Behn) Data Dump – How can you provide information without being transparent?
“Achieve Anything” 8 “Don’t just provide the requested data. Don’t just provide the key data. Instead, provide all the available data. This is obfuscation by disclosure.” -Bob Behn
“Achieve Anything” 9 Culture Make it easy for people to ask. – Staff needs to be accessible. That means that they have to spend time in the community not just in the office. Make sure that you follow-up timely.
“Achieve Anything” 10 Culture Make your internal organization transparent. There is a better chance your staff will emulate.
“Achieve Anything” 11 North Port’s Transparency City Clerk’s Office is easily accessible for public records requests. City Clerk sets high expectation for timely response. City Clerk quickly gets meetings online for both audio and video. City Clerk quickly posts agenda and backup material in a timely manner.
“Achieve Anything” 12 North Port’s Transparency Staff at Community meetings Community Outreach Manager Annual Community Conversations in neighborhoods Weekly Highlights Monthly Department reports
“Achieve Anything” 13 North Port’s Transparency Your News Now! List Serve ( notifications) Flicker YouTube Live Streaming of Board Meetings Currents Distinction Financial---Open Check book
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“Achieve Anything” 23 North Port’s Transparency Weekly Highlights Month Department reports Your News Now! List Serve Financial---Open Check book Online Community Conversation
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“Achieve Anything” 26 Parting Thoughts Since transparency is not a specifically defined action, but rather a cultural expectation Clerk are crucial to the idea of being a transparent City. It is not what you do, it is how you do it. We ought to be telling what we are doing, what we are spending, and what we are accomplishing.