Boston City Council Public Records

2011-10-27T09:55:00.001-07:00

An Open Boston City Council
http://anopenbostoncitycouncil.blogspot.com

Sunshine Boston
http://sunshineboston.blogspot.com

2008-08-19T02:21:00.000-07:00

by John C. Drake jdrake at globe.com
The Globe received payroll records for the City Council through a
public records request, and obtained copies of docket orders from the
city clerk showing regular and temporary salaries approved by the
council.

Those dockets, which are often introduced as late-filed
motions, are not included in the packet of weekly council meeting
documents regularly made available to the public and the press, nor do
the details of the payments appear on council agendas or minutes.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/
articles/2008/08/19/bonuses_boost_council_staff_pay/

2008-06-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Paul Minihane
Boston Finance Cammission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Boston_Finance_Commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Finance_Commission

The Honorable William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Public Records Division
Records Management Unit
Commissions Section
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcrmu/rmuidx.htm

The Honorable Deval Patrick
Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Lily Mendez-Morgan, Senior Director of Appointments and Civic Engagement
Our Team
Governor's Staff
http://mass.gov/governor

Please make available the last completed Report including the last
Report of the Boston Finance Commission...

Appointments for the expired terms on the Boston Finance Commission
should be commissioners who make available public documents of local
and state government, protecting access according to Sunshine open
public meeting principles and freedom of information FOI public
records principles of open government.

2008-04-04T09:45:00.001-07:00

.

Please call back if you're the student in journalism that called...

.

Loose the attitude, dudes!

2008-02-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

Training and continuing supervision at City Hall needs improvement so that people do not get intimidated asking for civic information. The generally bad attitude at City Hall when asking for public information is that a favor is being done for the enquirer. That has been wrong. We should encourage people to ask for what they want to know. We should make civic education easier by welcoming even the most problematical enquiries for information. Recruiting the best people for public service would be better by fostering interest in municipal government through the more ready availability of public information for the interests, concerns of everyone. Especially high school and college students thinking about their careers.

Regrettably City Council staff, Council Staff Director, City Messenger, Councilors, City Clerk, Assistant City Clerk, Clerks office staff and many other divisions and officials of city government are in denial about observing public records principles and sunshine open public meetings principles of open government in practice when contacted by enquirers. Our people at City Hall are in denial... have said one thing and done otherwise, have said public records are accessible and delayed or denied access.

2008-02-19T07:55:00.001-08:00

> Sent-From: Rosaria.Salerno at cityofboston.gov
>
> The City Council staff are not the keepers of official council records.
> Rosaria Salerno
Boston City Clerk

City Departments' Annual Reports

2008-02-17T05:48:00.000-08:00

. City Departments' Annual Reports need to be made more readily available.
. The City Messenger needs to be more available for access to reports.
. City Departmental Annual Reports need to be made available on the web.

Problematical access. Difficulties accessing public records. Boston City Council.

2008-02-17T05:39:00.000-08:00

Boston City Council
. Communications
. Transactions
. Proceedings

Boston City Council staff need to be better versed on public records FOI freedom of information principles and sunshine open public meetings principles of open government.

. Minutes are too abbreviated from the stenographic records.
. Council stenographic records are not readily available.
. Council stenographic machine technology is out of date.
. Council stenographic software is out of date.

.
Closed captioning for people with hearing loss and for difficult audio included with up to date stenographic software used by scopists http://scopists.com should be used on Council video productions and Council webcasts.

.
Stenographic records of Councilors' debate should be made available allowing the people to read and comment.