A Truly Transparent City Government?

It is way past time for our Mayor and City Council to publish a monthly financial report to the citizens of Huntington. The report should include all expenditures and revenue for each month. The report should itemize all revenue streams and note if any of these revenue sources are committed to pay a specific obligation. The report should include a sub-report of all short-term and long-term financial obligations. It should reflect the original amount of each obligation, the monthly payment, the original number of payments, the total number of remaining payments - and if a shortfall of income to expenses occurs in any given month this figure should be revealed.

Every Huntington citizen has the right to know what their government is doing. The Freedom of Information Act is a necessary tool to find out what our officials are doing. However, we should not have to use a legal challenge to obtain the on-going monthly condition of our city's operation, We can control our government only if we remain informed about the decisions our government officials are making. This information should be made public for each and every month of the city's operation - and without cost to a citizen. The full report should be published in the Huntington Herald-Dispatch. Who knows, we citizens may be enlightened by the information and be more receptive to supporting the city's needed tough decisions that will be required if our city is to reverse its population loss and economic decline.

Each citizen of Huntington is a shareholder of our city. The Huntington City Council is our board of directors. The city government can regain the trust and support of our citizens quickly, if they will move immediately to require the monthly publication of our government's monthly financial condition; it would immediately establish on-going total transparency. Mr. and Mrs. Citizen, what do you think?