It can seem impossibly obtuse, but on balance, I think we should acknowledge that we are in the middle of a sea change in how information is collected, stored, and made accessible. It's pretty tough to blame the process when we are half way through the revolving door.
Technology, process, and new policy will all bring us toward transparency. That is inevitable. But I certainly hope we never get to the point where no research skills are ever necessary for good citizenship. If that happens, we truly will not know what we do not know.
Best wishes,
Laura
On Wednesday, May 4, 2005, at 09:46 AM, Jeremy Wieland wrote:
The Scallon Response to Jason misses the mark to a degree. The beef that
many in Minneapolis who watch government closely is that none of the
necessary information is readily available. Research is sometimes
impossible, and asking budgetary questions of Park Board incumbents doesn't
make sense, because they're often working off executive summaries rather
than actual budgets. Not too long ago I was looking at some numbers for
golf courses and no actuals or variances were included. Furthermore, what
do you do when the largest line items are "other?"
There is a five person coalition running the Park Board and they're not doing a good job, they're not keeping up with technology, they're not keeping up with cultural changes.
Laura Waterman Wittstock Minneapolis, MN 612-387-4915 www.laurawatermanwittstock.com http://laurawatermanwittstock.blogspot.com/
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