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“I promised an open, transparent and accountable city government when I ran for mayor, and this ordinance begins to make that a reality,” said Ganim. “This builds on the progress we have already made to open our books in city government.
"This office would be a place that gives ordinary citizens the ability to hold city government responsible for its performance and investigate itself if there is waste or abuse of public resources," said Ganim. "We also hope to provide more public access to government data so Freedom of Information requests aren’t delayed for months. If the City Council enacts this ordinance, Bridgeport has the potential to become the most transparent and accountable municipal government in the state of Connecticut.”
If approved, the ordinance would establishment a first-of-its-kind office of government accountability within City Hall. The proposed office would operate as a clearinghouse for government performance-related complaints on matters such as constituent inquiries, waste, inefficiency and potential misconduct.
The office would review complaints and determine whether further investigation or a referral to another office is warranted.
Freedom of Information requests would also be consolidated in the proposed office.
The office's director would also submit reports to a three-member Government Accountability Commission. Two of the members would be appointed by Ganim and one would be approved by the City Council.
The ordinance would go into effect July 1 if approved by the council.
Retired FBI agent Edward Adams has led all efforts on government accountability, transparency and public integrity. Efforts include the launching of the OpenBridgeport project with state Comptroller Kevin Lembo, which provides real-time online tracking of all city finances.
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