If the White House can do it…

Why can’t all the other levels of government manage to provide a transparent government?

If you check the White House website, you’ll see a statement there that reads:

WhiteHouse.gov will be a central part of President Obama’s pledge to make his the most transparent and accountable administration in American history.  (item 3 on the front page of the site)

Hmmm… this is one man with a mission to manage an entire nation and he has put the wheels into motion from day 1 to ensure that at least this is one of the promises he keeps.  Is it so far-fetched to think it could be done at a much smaller scale?

One particular change is most impressive:

One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it. (boldface added by the editor; taken from Tues., Jan. 20, 2009 blog entry at WhiteHouse.gov)

You’re talking about an operation countless thousands of times the size of the Borough of North Plainfield, and yet–they will manage to get that done.  For those of you who are unaware, this could be as simple as posting the Council meeting agendas and minutes (and minutes are only delayed by their approval as far as it is known–not because the technological process is difficult), and sending commentary to an e-mail address of our mayor and/or elected officials.  Techonolgy-wise, we HAVE the systems in place.  There is nothing to do but actually use it.  It’s a change of habit–not technology.  Cost?  Nothing.

Let’s hope that North Plainfield falls in line with the direction of our nation–the direction of change, communication, transparency, accountability and participation.