Government transparency is key to City of Stonecrest’s success

Public Service is clearly not for the weak and faint of heart.

Many have disconnected from the legislative process and simply are not interested. However, the runoff election for Stonecrest Districts 5, 4 and 2 generated some unprecedented results with almost a 12% increase in voter return. Albeit, when this increase is compared to the total number of registered voters, this is still unacceptable.   Therefore this cannot be defined as aggressive citizen engagement.

Transparency was a key promise of my pre-election platform and remains a critical component of my current office agenda. Stonecrest citizens and stakeholders are firmly protected when the government is operating in an open environment subject to public scrutiny and criticism. While many arguments can be made to the contrary, open government is essential to the preservation of a democratic society.

I strongly believe that governmental Transparency will, hold me accountable and will reduce possible government corruption, bribery and other types of malfeasance that may cause our city embarrassment. Just because it is legal does not necessarily mean the official should take action.

There have been many twists and turns as to what open government is and many arguments can be made as well as counter arguments. However, it is clear that when managing tax payer dollars a high level of accountability and transparency reduces temptation and corruption and is trending as” best practice.”

Utilizing technology is an efficient way to disseminate information to the greatest largest number of people in a short period of time. It also allows for immediate access to meetings, documents, events and other elected official activity. Technology can be a means by which one can better manage their government official as well.

The city of Stonecrest can be a model for government transparency by divorcing itself from traditional forms of transparency and adopt a more robust form of governing that will set the tone for many other new and existing cities. This can be best done by implementing processes to EASILY share and distribute information to keep the public informed and granting easy access for citizen feedback. Technology opens the path for sharing data and information and serve to increase our precious democratic form of government. I appeal to the citizens of Stonecrest to join me in this quest.

Council meetings, town hall meetings, expenditures, partnerships, intergovernmental agreements, and the selection of vendors, key personnel are subject to the scrutiny and public oversight. Thus, therefore it is smart government to provide easy access to documents pertaining to these activities. Although some documents are not subject to public scrutiny, such as dealing with some personnel, land and lease issues the others are open to the public.

Transparency is both the bright line and the lifeline to good governance and accountability. It is a component of good leadership. This is a clarion to the citizens of Stonecrest District 5, so please continue to remain engaged and hold me accountable. In so doing, I will press on to represent you with integrity and the utmost openness possible.

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A correlational study: Transformational leadership style and employee trust in small business organizations in the state of Georgia.

Diane Adoma is the Stonecrest District 5 City Council member and mayor pro tem. Dianeforstonecrest.com 470-223-6039

Adoma.diane@gmail.com