New transparency initiative to launch

 

MAYOR BECKER AND U OF U STUDENTS ANNOUNCE GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY PROJECT

University of Utah students, alongside Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and City Council Chair Soren Simonsen, will announce tomorrow,  April 11, at 2 p.m. at the UNiversity of Utah the “Utah Transparency Project:Shining a Light on Utah Government” to promote awareness for local government transparency and accessibility.

As part of a yearlong Honors College Think Tank, students created a set of “Transparency Best Practices” for the project that focus on fostering communication between the government and thegoverned to enhance democratic engagement.

The group’s recommendations for a more transparent relationship include:

1.) Each city and county government will establish an “open government” website whichwill meet a 10-point checklist recommended by the Sunshine Review and endorsed bythe Sutherland Institute;

2.) Government information will be collected, generated and maintained in a digital formand made available on an open government website;

3.) Emails, instant messages and other electronic communications made with governmentsupplied equipment will be considered public records;

4.) Elected officials and non-elected senior administrators will commit to developing aculture of transparency among employees and other officials;

5.) Policy and deliberative bodies will strive to make all public meetings truly transparent.Randy Dryer, Presidential Honors Professor at the University of Utah said the creation of thesetransparency best practices is significant on many levels.

“This particular project has the potential to have a meaningful and long-lasting impact on every citizen of this state. It is a wonderful marriage of great ideas and concerted action by youngpeople who are our future leaders,” said Dryer.

National research provides a strong link between government transparency and the level of trust and confidence the public has in the governmental entity.

The announcement will be made at the The Hinckley Caucus Room, Orson Spencer Hall room 255, University of Utah

 The Utah Foundation for Open Government wholeheartedly supports this transparency project.

 

Utah Foundation for Open Government

 

The Utah Foundation for Open Government, a citizen coalition, was founded in 1996. Its purpose is to encourage, sponsor and facilitate the public’s right to know about the workings of government at all levels and to foster open government.

Originally organized under the Utah Headliners chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, in recent years UFOG has opened its board to citizen groups and now includes representatives from the Utah League of Women Voters, the Attorney General’s office, Davis County Concerned Writers (Davis Democratic Party), Utah Republican Party, the Utah Press Association and Utah Headliners. Currently other groups are being invited to participate.

UFOG’s accomplishments include:

  •  Production and statewide distribution of the “Utah Open Government Guide & Utah Media Law Handbook”
  •  Completion of a 2005 statewide Freedom of Information audit of government compliance for citizen requests for public documents under the Government Records Access and Management Act.
  • Completion and ongoing statewide distribution of a DVD and lesson plan for high school instructors which outlines the importance of open government and encourages high school students to get involved in their government. (2010)
  •  Seminars across the state on the Utah Open Meetings Law, the Government Records Access Law and citizen access to government meetings and records
  •  Seminars in partnership with the Utah Attorney General’s office and/or the Utah Press Association on these topics and the AG’s support of a state judicial reporters’ shield rule of law (Rule 501).

For more information on UFOG, please contact Linda Petersen, president, at 801-554-7513, or at utahfoundation@gmail.com.