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Council President Richard Conlin
Council increases openness and transparency; vows to do more
Passage of Resolution 31162 outlines support for greater access to
information and increased public participation
SEATTLE – Today, the Seattle City Council passed Resolution 31162
outlining the Council’s decisions that support open and transparent government while also increasing public engagement.
Resolution 31162 is a big step toward opening up government and responding to community concerns. “There’s more work to do, but Seattle is taking great strides to increase access and make engagement a priority," said Council President and Open Government Committee Chair, Richard Conlin. “The Council will keep listening to the community on what more should be done.”
The resolution outlines steps to ensure departmental compliance with new standards for openness, make all committee materials available online 48 hours prior to meetings and request that the Mayor and city departments do more to publicize the services offered by the Customer Service Bureau to help those making public records requests. Further, Council is committing to have lawyers monitor all executive sessions for compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act and make audio recordings of most executive sessions as soon as the Legislature coordinates the disclosure regulations of the Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act.
The Council will hold a public hearing on Monday, Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers focusing on the work product of the Special committee on Open Government
, including the Public Engagement Plan. Following the public hearing, the committee will hold its final meeting of the year on Monday, Dec. 14 at 11:30 a.m. in Council Chambers.
Council meetings are cablecast live on Seattle Channel 21 and Webcast live on the City Council’s website at http://www.seattle.gov/council
. Copies of legislation, archives of previous meetings, and news releases are available on http://www.seattle.gov/council
. Follow the Council on Twitter at twitter.com/Seattle Council and on Facebook at Seattle City Council.
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