Over the last several years, the Marin County Civil Grand Jury has admonished our elected officials about the need for increased transparency with the public. The message has been simple. At a minimum, provide websites that share common sets of public information. This includes budgets, salaries and video of public meetings. As a result, many agencies have stepped up their public-engagement game.
But in this year’s reports, the grand jury has taken a bold step forward. Its work on transparency helped identify the fundamental structure of Marin government. Now it is looking at the interoperating relationships between our 130 local agencies and schools.
In its wildfire preparedness report, it found we had too little structure and recommended the establishment of a new tax. It would be funded by the joint powers authority agency to coordinate the excellent, but siloed, work being done by our emergency services groups.
In a report on Marin’s telecommunications disconnect, it identified an income protection allowance account which has spent millions on itself but delivered little value. The grand jury recommended the agency be dissolved and replaced with a citizen’s advisory committee.
Where government agencies exist to serve themselves, or no longer serve their intended purpose, you have institutional corruption. We are already at the inflection point where our most significant issues — like fire preparedness, 5G, climate change and water management — cut across all jurisdictional lines. Restructuring the government to meet these challenges will be difficult, but the civil grand jury is telling us we no longer have a choice, and we need to start now.
June 18, 2019
Marin Independent Journal
Letter from Bruce Vogen, San Anselmo
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