FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  Jason Gerwig
630/407-6022
March 10, 2009

REPORT OFFERS RECOMMENDATIONS TO EXPAND TRANSPARENCY IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT

VIEW THE PRELIMINARY REPORT

WHEATON, IL —   Increasing the public’s participation in the budget process, providing easier access to filing an ethics complaint, posting County Board meetings online and reviewing the County’s Procurement Ordinance to expand the use of competitive bidding were all recommendations put forth by the DuPage County Ad-Hoc Committee on Government Transparency and Accessibility, which issued their preliminary report on Tuesday.

In creating the Committee this past January, DuPage County Board Chairman Robert J. Schillerstrom asked members to look at what new technologies and practices are available to make DuPage  County government more transparent, as well as keeping the County as a leader in openness and accessibility.  

“This report reaffirms our leadership and commitment to open government in the State of Illinois, and provides a blue print for both short-term and longer-term actions we can take to increase and enhance transparency,” said Schillerstrom.   “I want to thank Jeff Redick and the members of the Committee for their hard work on this important issue.” 

Over the past month, the Committee heard testimony from County Departments and Elected Officials on ways the County could become even more transparent than it already has become.   The Committee also heard testimony on best practices from groups like the Illinois Policy Institute, Americans for Prosperity, the Civic Federation, the Sam Adams Alliance and Illinoisans for Growth.  

Jeff Redick (District 2), Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee, says that in order to maintain the public’s trust in government, the County needs to increase public participation in all aspects of County government, especially the budget process.

“The work we do each year crafting and enacting a budget has a direct impact on the lives of DuPage residents, and it is imperative we have their input during this process,” said Redick.   “Therefore, our Committee recommends that the County hold a series of district budget meetings to gather public input during the budget process.  We also recommend that the public be provided with a comprehensive, easy-to-understand, budget which details how their tax dollars are being spent.”  

The Committee also recommends that the Finance Department post online a budget calendar, which should include dates for individual committee meetings, budget reviews, the Chairman’s budget presentation, public meetings and hearings, deliberations by the Board, and voting. 

Another important topic discussed by the Committee was the County’s Ethics Ordinance.   The Committee heard testimony from both the County’s Human Resources Department and the County’s Ethic’s Officer on what the current practices are regarding the filing of an ethics complaint.  In their report the Committee recommends that more information be posted online regarding how to file a complaint, that a process be created for an individual to follow their complaint through the system; a detailed explanation on what whistle-blower protections are available to individuals filing a complaint and a full listing of who serves on the DuPage County Ethics Commission.

“The recommendations made in this report demonstrate our commitment to open government, and that implementing these suggestions will maintain the public’s trust in their County government,” said Redick.  

The Committee report further recommends:

• The County examine the feasibility of investing in a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which would: provide the public with a searchable database for contracts, expenditures and budget; provide a contract life cycle (inception in committee through close-out), automatically create financial statements meeting modern audit methodologies; improve report creation and compliance; and streamline budget submission and development process.  

• County-wide Elected Officials consider adoption of the DuPage County Ethics Ordinance and submit to jurisdiction of the DuPage County Ethics Commission, which would promote uniform and comprehensive ethical standards throughout County government.   Currently, many elected officials have implemented an ethics policy that governs their operation.  This would bring all offices under the same policy.    

• A full review of the County Procurement Ordinance be made with the intent of instituting changes to limit campaign contributions by vendors doing business with DuPage  County in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety and maintain objectivity in the procurement process.  Campaign contribution limits should also be extended to include professional groups representing County contractors and organizations representing County employees and/or performing work on behalf of vendors on County projects.  

• The County Board examine the feasibility of airing County Board meetings online, which will provide residents with easy access to meetings, which can be view at anytime, and allow the County to archive meetings so they are always available for public viewing.