Bloomington Chamber of Commerce
  • Business Directory
  • Membership
    • Join Today!
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Networking >
        • Business After Hours
      • Ribbon Cuttings and Milestones
      • Cost Saving Programs
      • Marketing
      • Co-Work Space & Conference Room
      • Coupons
    • Member Login
    • Member Materials
    • Ambassadors >
      • Ambassador Info
  • News & Events
    • 3 Things Podcast
    • Bloomington Business Journal
    • Chamber Calendar
    • Chamber News
    • Member News
    • News Quiz
    • Photo Gallery
    • Signature Events >
      • Annual Meeting
      • Business Outlook
      • Chamber's Speaker Series
      • Educator of the Year
      • Elect Connect
      • Federal Focus
      • Governor's Luncheon
      • Health and Business
      • HR Conference
      • Legislative Events
      • Morning Buzz
      • Primetime
      • Ten Under 40
      • Women Excel Bloomington
    • Sponsorship
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Sign Up For News
  • Advocacy
    • 2021 Local Public Policy
    • 2021 State-Federal Advocacy
    • State Legislative Process
    • Elected Officials Directory
    • Endorsement Policy
    • Resources >
      • Civic Engagement
      • Gender Wage Gap
      • Housing >
        • Housing In the News
      • Taxes
      • Transportation >
        • Transportation News
    • Local Government Advisory Boards
    • Transparency in Government
    • Sign Up for Advocacy News
  • Community
    • Black-Owned Business Affinity Group
    • BWIL
    • COVID-19 Resources >
      • Tiger Teams
      • What To Do If An Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19
      • Reopening resources and links
    • Job Bank
    • Community Calendar
    • Success School >
      • Request Programming
      • Programs >
        • Career Days
        • Career Intro Panels
        • EJS Fair
        • Book Readings
        • Job Shadowing
        • LSSC Fair
        • Mock Interviews
        • Reality Store
      • Support The Success School
      • 2021 Educator of the Year Nominations >
        • Educators of the Year
      • Success School FAQs
      • Contact The Success School
    • Young Professionals >
      • YPB Steering Committee
      • Ten Under 40 >
        • 2019 - 10 Under 40 Winners
      • YPB Events
      • YPB Pics
      • YPB Blog
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • History
    • Contact

 Advocacy Matters
Local News & Updates

Chamber Advocates for Greater Transparency in Government

2/21/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce supports efforts to make government at all levels more transparent, consistent and accountable. As part of our advocacy efforts on this issue, the Chamber has launched a transparency initiative to track the work of local government and to identify ways that openness and access can be improved.

“Open government gives our members and the broader community the ability to be more informed and to influence decisions, which in turn will help build economic equity, equality and accessibility,” said Erin Predmore, the Chamber’s President & CEO.

The City of Bloomington and Monroe County government already take actions related to these goals. Many public meetings, but not all, are recorded by Community Access Television Services (CATS) and are broadcast live or available later on the CATS website. The agendas, packets and meetings for many public meetings, but not all, are posted online. Many meetings, but not all, are noticed in a timely and accessible way.

The Chamber is tracking 82 councils, boards and commissions that govern and advise the City of Bloomington and Monroe County. We are tracking whether meeting minutes, agendas and packets are posted online in a timely way, and whether contact information is posted for these entities. As of January 2020, 45 are in the “red zone,” with up-to-date information unavailable in at least two of the four categories that we’re tracking. We will continue to monitor these groups and post updates on our Transparency in Government site.  

We can do better. Here are some ways that local government can improve. 
  • Post all meeting agendas, packets and minutes online and in a timely manner. A Chamber review revealed that more than 50% of local public boards and commissions do not currently provide these materials in a timely way, if at all.
 
  • Hold meetings at times that are accessible to members of the general public. Keep in mind that the length of meetings will affect whether residents can participate. For evening meetings, consider limiting the end time to coincide with bus schedules.
 
  • Do not meet in caucus to deliberate on government actions. Caucus meetings are intended for political party business only and are not open to the public. Elected bodies with all members from the same political party, such as the Bloomington City Council and Monroe County Board of Commissioners, should not use the caucus to discuss public business out of public view. 
 
  • Provide childcare for public meetings whenever possible.
 
  • Communicate with residents in a timely, respectful manner. For example, when residents apply to serve on volunteer advisory boards/commissions, make sure their applications are acknowledged and that they are informed when the vacancy is filled, even if they aren't appointed.
 
  • When appointing someone to fill a vacancy in an elected position, the appointing body should make candidate applications and other materials available to the public and provide opportunity for public input. Deliberations and voting on filling the position should be made in public as well.

“Elected officials often encourage residents to get involved in local government, but don’t remove the barriers that prevent people from engaging,” Predmore said. “Easier access to information, a true commitment to transparency, and systemic changes are needed as we aspire to more inclusive decision-making for our community.”

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Mary Morgan

    Director of Advocacy & Public Policy

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019

    Categories

    All
    Advisory Boards/Commissions
    Affordability
    Arts & Culture
    Awards
    Bloomington Government
    Bloomington-IU Relations
    Bloomington Police
    Broadband
    Budget
    Census
    Chamber Events
    Chamber News
    Civic Engagement
    Climate Change
    COVID 19 Pandemic
    COVID-19 Pandemic
    Criminal Justice
    Development
    Diversity
    Downtown Bloomington
    Economic Impact
    Education
    Elections
    Entrepreneurs
    Farmers Market
    Federal Government
    Finance
    Grants
    Historic Preservation
    Housing
    Indiana University
    Infrastructure
    IN State Government
    IN State Legislature
    Jail
    Judicial
    Law Enforcement
    Low Income Issues
    Major Employers
    Minority Business
    Monroe County Circuit Court
    Monroe County Community School Corporation
    Monroe County Government
    Monroe County Public Library
    Networking
    Opinion
    Parking
    Parks
    Planning
    Public Art
    Public Health
    Public Policy
    Public Safety
    Quality Of Place
    Quotable Quotes
    Redistricting
    Restaurants
    Richland Bean Blossom Community School Corp.
    Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corp.
    Rural Communities
    Small Business
    Small Business Development Center
    Startups
    Surveys
    Sustainability
    Taxes
    Technology
    TIF (Tax Increment Financing)
    Tourism
    Transportation
    UDO (Unified Development Ordinance)
    Utilities
    Workforce Attraction/Retention
    Workforce Development
    Youth
    Zoning

    RSS Feed

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.  All Rights Reserved.
421 W 6th Street, Suite A  |  Bloomington, IN 47404
Phone: (812)336-6381 | info@chamberbloomington.org | sitemap
Office Hours:
Monday-Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday: 9:00am-3:00pm

There is a no refund policy for events.  If you need to reassign your ticket to another person we will be happy to update our attendance list. Thank you.
Picture
  • Business Directory
  • Membership
    • Join Today!
    • Benefits of Membership >
      • Networking >
        • Business After Hours
      • Ribbon Cuttings and Milestones
      • Cost Saving Programs
      • Marketing
      • Co-Work Space & Conference Room
      • Coupons
    • Member Login
    • Member Materials
    • Ambassadors >
      • Ambassador Info
  • News & Events
    • 3 Things Podcast
    • Bloomington Business Journal
    • Chamber Calendar
    • Chamber News
    • Member News
    • News Quiz
    • Photo Gallery
    • Signature Events >
      • Annual Meeting
      • Business Outlook
      • Chamber's Speaker Series
      • Educator of the Year
      • Elect Connect
      • Federal Focus
      • Governor's Luncheon
      • Health and Business
      • HR Conference
      • Legislative Events
      • Morning Buzz
      • Primetime
      • Ten Under 40
      • Women Excel Bloomington
    • Sponsorship
    • Advocacy Matters Updates
    • Sign Up For News
  • Advocacy
    • 2021 Local Public Policy
    • 2021 State-Federal Advocacy
    • State Legislative Process
    • Elected Officials Directory
    • Endorsement Policy
    • Resources >
      • Civic Engagement
      • Gender Wage Gap
      • Housing >
        • Housing In the News
      • Taxes
      • Transportation >
        • Transportation News
    • Local Government Advisory Boards
    • Transparency in Government
    • Sign Up for Advocacy News
  • Community
    • Black-Owned Business Affinity Group
    • BWIL
    • COVID-19 Resources >
      • Tiger Teams
      • What To Do If An Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19
      • Reopening resources and links
    • Job Bank
    • Community Calendar
    • Success School >
      • Request Programming
      • Programs >
        • Career Days
        • Career Intro Panels
        • EJS Fair
        • Book Readings
        • Job Shadowing
        • LSSC Fair
        • Mock Interviews
        • Reality Store
      • Support The Success School
      • 2021 Educator of the Year Nominations >
        • Educators of the Year
      • Success School FAQs
      • Contact The Success School
    • Young Professionals >
      • YPB Steering Committee
      • Ten Under 40 >
        • 2019 - 10 Under 40 Winners
      • YPB Events
      • YPB Pics
      • YPB Blog
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • History
    • Contact