Daley addresses Monroe County government transparency issue

Last Wednesday, at-large county council candidate Repubican Skip Daley released a statement proposing solutions to what he called issues of transparency in Monroe County government.

“Regardless of whether our elected officials have intentionally eliminated proper communication of their governing or if it is merely an oversight due to inexperience, it is unacceptable, and the people of our county deserve better,” Daley said in the release.

Daley said students should be concerned with goings-on in county government. Rent costs, trash pickup and land-use polices are examples of issues that directly impact the student population, Daley said.

Daley’s plan addressed four major areas: the county’s comprehensive land use plan, county government misappropriation, the purchase of the North Showers Building and implementation of new voter centers.

The candidate’s proposed solutions include:

- Quarterly town hall meetings for commissioners and councilors to update the public.

- Creating an internship program for IU and Ivy Tech Community College students to improve and update the county website. Daley said this step would tap into local resources. “I’m a firm believer that internship programs are mutually beneficial,” Daley said. “They’re a win-win-win situation.” In addition to managing the county’s website, Daley said a longer-term goal would be to create a collaborative program with the School of Public and Environmental Affairs to examine best practices in other successful counties.

- Collaboration with the Community Access Television Services to add a weekly program outlining current issues, programs and policies in county government.

- Collaborating with the Bloomington Herald-Times to provide feature articles outlining the duties, responsibilities and contact information for each county department.

- Creating semi-annual business forums with round-table discussion focused on improving the local community.

- Scheduling regular weekend breakfast meetings for council updates and feedback
Requiring a commitment from local officials to prepare and disclose itemized line-item budgets and return on investment documentation to clearly explain all future capital projects and county investments.

- Daley said the plan is the result of collaboration and research with other residents.

“I’m a bigger picture guy,” Daley said. “I believe all the gears have to be rolling in order for us collectively to tell time.”

— Claire Wiseman