Comments on: An extra measure of transparency?

By: Janine D.

Janine D. — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:23:37 +0000

Where is the alleged “transparency” called for at the School Committee?

By: eila

eila — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 23:58:27 +0000

“Somerville is a regional leader in adopting municipal best practices to improve service efficiency,” said Samuel Tyler. This comment is incorporated into the City's FAC press release of january 28. Can anyone tell me if this is a true statement? and if so, where's the proof?

By: Linda Haviland Conte

Linda Haviland Conte — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:11:06 +0000

I’m playing devil’s advocate a little. How will we get the answers to the questions? Are the answerers likely to read this blog? I know you are extremely thorough, but you don’t mention whom you have been questioning about these issues.

By: Barry Rafkind

Barry Rafkind — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:24:06 +0000

I share Lei’s concern about the lack of transparency in city hall. The “serious attempt to thwart” transparency is manifest in the fact that all of the questions I raised in this post remain unanswered.

By: Linda Haviland Conte

Linda Haviland Conte — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:25:40 +0000

I apologize for my ill-chosen use of slang. Perhaps I’ve been reading too many face book entries lately and the style is rubbing off on me. But you do make some heavy accusations in your prior post! I agree that transparency is vital but I don’t see that a serious attempt to thwart it has been made here. Why does this group of financial advisers look like consigliere to you?

By: Lei Qin

Lei Qin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:35:15 +0000

The point is about transparency in government. Transparency in compensation, including that of any special advisory board, could only serve to deepen democracy by encouraging full citizen participation in public policy-making. Such transparency is vital to establishing a government that enforces fair administration and justice.

On a separate note, the message board is created so that the residents could voices their independent opinions, which sometimes can be unpopular. In response, I don’t appreciate Linda Haviland Conte’s use of adjective, especially a slang, in describing my prior comment.

By: Linda Haviland Conte

Linda Haviland Conte — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:46:16 +0000

However strong your reasons, I really don’t appreciate the snarky tone of your comments Lei Qin. I’m glad Barry has researched who is on this advisory committee, and it sounds like a pretty smart bunch to me. We should be glad to encourage more thinking around the city’s finances. It would seem likely to expose irregularities than no advisers at all.

By: Lei Qin

Lei Qin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:37:30 +0000

We all know that Somerville’s real estate taxes are higher than some of the neighboring cities of MA. It became progressively worse when the taxpayers are also responsible for the extended Koty family’s compensation and an oversized trash hearing board: four city employees sat on one trash hearing simultaneously, and of course, their compensations are at the tax payer’s expense. Now the entire nation is talking about budget cuts, and my recession-prone, hard-working friends finally hoped for the end of the DARK ages, Somerville transformed itself into a cartel. Only the Godfather needs a wartime consigliere, at his own expense. But Kudos to the city of Somerville, who managed to form its own wartime consigliere at the taxpayer’s expense, once again!