DuPage readies preliminary report on transparency

A little more than a month after its first meeting, the DuPage County Board's transparency and government accessibility committee is ready to release a preliminary report on possible initiatives that should make county government more open.

The report will focus on broad topics such as the county budget and Web site upgrades as well as specifics such as whistle-blower protection and limiting vendor contributions.

The committee went through the list during a Tuesday morning meeting.

The panel, headed by board member Jeff Redick, is represented by board members from each of the county's six districts.

"The public's confidence in government is shaken," Redick said. "This is an opportunity for us to put everything on the table."

The group will receive a draft of the preliminary report Friday and then is expected to ratify the document next week before sending it to the full board for direction on implementation. There is no timetable for implementation of any of the recommendations.

Here's a quick glimpse at some of the topics expected to be included in the report:

Budget

Some board members have expressed concern there's no formal schedule for work on the county's budget. They are recommended deadlines for department presentations to board oversight committees, followed by a series of preset budget hearings in front of the board's finance committee. A formal calendar also will help the public keep tabs on budget presentations, they said.

Currently, the only formal date is a mid-September deadline for Chairman Robert Schillerstrom to make his budget presentation. The county's fiscal year ends Nov. 30 and some board members complain that a month and a half is not long enough time to work on the budget.

A formal budget calendar also will help the board schedule town hall meetings throughout the county to give officials a chance to present spending plans in a less formal setting and give residents a chance to ask questions.

Broadcast

Current options to watch county board meetings are fairly limited. The meetings are shot with one camera and shown on Comcast cable outlets in some communities, but not all of the county. The county doesn't keep copies of the tapes, either. The county pays about $200 a month for the limited service, county officials said.

"Right now, there's only a handful of cities that can see the meetings," board member James Zay said. "We need to sit down with Comcast and see about getting a better schedule and what else we can do."

Another option would be to stream the meetings live on the Internet, which would allow the county to store the videos in perpetuity on the Web.

Any increased television presence or online broadcast would likely require a significant financial investment, something members were leery about when the committee was formed.

Technology

If the board leans toward the Internet to broadcast its meetings, don't expect it to stop there. Schillerstrom and several board members are pressing for significant technological upgrades to allow the county to post just about anything on the Web, including an ordinance tracking system similar to what's used by the state's general assembly.

"Just about everything we do should be put on the Web," board member Grant Eckhoff said. "The problem seems to be in getting it up there."

New policies

Among the ideas tossed around by the committee were specific policy additions.

Board members are going to look into county legislation protecting whistle-blowers, reducing no-bid contracts and limiting vendor campaign contributions. Currently, there is no provision that formally protects employees if they come forward with accusations of wrongdoing by colleagues or superiors.

"It's their job to come forward," said board member John Curran, who pushed the initiative. "We want them to come forward."

Legislating campaign contributions may be the slickest slope because vendors could be punished if violations occur. No specific monetary limit has been discussed, either.

Redick suggested Tuesday that union contributions also should be limited, which would upset Democrats on the board.