News-Record.com

At Tuesday night's city council meeting, at-large candidate Joel Landau asked the council to make more information available to residents about the items they discuss at their meetings.

Specifically, Landau wants the city to make available the "backup information," a packet of information that council members, department heads and members of the media are given on the Thursday before each council meeting.

Most members of the public routinely get only the agenda, a 2-3 page listing of the items to be considered and a one sentence description of the item. See the latest agenda here. But along with the agenda, we are given a photocopy of information that explains what each item on the agenda is. For the most recent meeting, it was 70 double-sided pages (140 pages if it were a PDF).

Any resident could request to get the backup information, but Landau wants to make it as accessible as the agenda for folks who want to see it. For instance, a recurring agenda item is the approval of loans or grants made by the city, but only in the backup material is the listing of who is getting money and how much.

Newly appointed City Manager Mitchell Johnson told Landau that most of the backup material is available on the web (if they do, I can't find it anywhere) but that some things might be technically difficult to post, such as maps.

Landau sent out a press release about his appearance, and I republish it here for the record.

Landau: City should disclose spending on loans, grants

GREENSBORO -- When it comes to spending taxpayers’ money, Greensboro City Council ought to be more open and accountable to the residents they serve, says city council candidate Joel Landau.

Landau, an at-large candidate, spoke on the importance of accountability in spending at the city council meeting Tuesday. He pointed out that the elected body habitually approves an agenda item for “loans and grants,” yet fails to provide any details about where the funds are going so that residents can decide if their money is being well spent.

“I think citizens should have easy access to seeing how our money is being used,” said Landau. “My suggestion is that when the meeting agenda is posted on the city council website, have a link to the attachment listing the loans and grants.”

At the conclusion of his remarks, Mayor Keith Holliday asked the city manager Mitchell Johnson if it would be possible to follow the suggestion. Johnson replied that there would be a problem posting some attachments on the Internet, such as maps. Landau later said he was disappointed in the lackluster response.

“That was the end of the discussion,” he said. “However, I know from running a business that if you run into technical issues, that’s your cue to talk about how to solve them. I didn’t see any acknowledgement last night that there was a problem.”

Landau also asked the city to take the lead in informing residents about upcoming primary elections. The Oct. 11 primary election drew just 4.3 percent of voters.

“The low voter turnout in last week’s primary election was an embarrassment to our city,” Landau said. He suggested that the council consider alerting residents of upcoming elections through postcard mailings or inserts in water bills.

Landau, 54, is running on a platform which stresses open, accountable government, and citizen involvement in the decisions that affect their lives and neighborhoods. Voters can find out more about him at www.joellandau .com. To schedule an interview or speaking engagement, call 336-315-5440 or email scheduler@JoelLandau.com