Michael Flaherty goes transparent, after 9 years in
City Hall
Feb 03, 2009 17:04
Mayoral candidate Michael Flaherty is now Mr.
Transparency, after 9 years on city council. He is
filing for a hearing on televising the BRA and ZBA
hearings. Those are already public (although it's
good to make them available for those who can't
attend and testify). Now, what we need is public
access to the meetings held in non-wired rooms --
like all those city council committee meetings in the
Curley Room. That's where the problems have been
cooked up.
As remedial action for eleven past Open Meeting Law violations over which Councilor Flaherty presided, a few ideas:
Suggestion: Let's have a public hearing on all those private meetings with the BRA in 2003 and 2004 and 2005, and tell the public about the deals made as part of that horrendous council vote to perpetuate the BRA's urban renewal powers while stripping the council of most of its oversight powers.
Suggestion: Let's reverse that vote, since the BRA has not in four years met the reporting requirements on which the vote was conditioned.
Suggestion: Let's pass a Home Rule Petition repealing the 1960 legislation that abolished our planning board and gave all its powers and properties to the BRA, and re-establish a real city planning department -- one that publicly posts all its documents.
As remedial action for eleven past Open Meeting Law violations over which Councilor Flaherty presided, a few ideas:
Suggestion: Let's have a public hearing on all those private meetings with the BRA in 2003 and 2004 and 2005, and tell the public about the deals made as part of that horrendous council vote to perpetuate the BRA's urban renewal powers while stripping the council of most of its oversight powers.
Suggestion: Let's reverse that vote, since the BRA has not in four years met the reporting requirements on which the vote was conditioned.
Suggestion: Let's pass a Home Rule Petition repealing the 1960 legislation that abolished our planning board and gave all its powers and properties to the BRA, and re-establish a real city planning department -- one that publicly posts all its documents.
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