[Marin County] Marin IJ Editorial: Grand jury wants more governmental openness

The 2014-15 Marin County Civil Grand Jury rightly extended its recent recommendations to boost public transparency in the cost and terms of public workers’ contracts.

The grand jury has already urged the county and Marin cities to adopt policies that would provide taxpayers with important information about pay, benefits, staffing and pension changes well before they are endorsed by a public board. A follow-up report urges other large local public employers — the Marin Municipal Water and Golden Gate Bridge districts, among them — to adopt similar rules.

The jury’s recommendation reflects taxpayer frustration that the public is typically left out of the process and is given little information about the short- or long-term public costs of the contract changes. In recent years, taxpayers saw local services cut, taxes and fees raised and workers laid off, in part because of contract obligations agreed to with little information on costs and ramifications made public prior to ratification.

The grand jury wants public agencies to adopt the Civic Openness in Negotiations — or COIN — law before next June.

While they did not endorse COIN, several Marin County supervisors supported providing the public with more information on the costs and details of new contracts long before the board votes to ratify the new pacts.

It’s time that public agencies across the county commit themselves to that promise.

June 22, 2015

Marin Independent Journal

Editorial