James Perry 2010 - Mayor for a City that Works

Other cities have put technology at the forefront of open government initiatives. In Washington DC, Vivek Kundra pioneered open government by allowing citizens to design open-source internet applications that present government data in valuable ways for the public. Today, Mr. Kundra serves as the Federal Chief Information Officer and is developing open government at the national level. Cities like DC and San Francisco have moved forward with meaningful reforms, and there is no reason why New Orleans cannot also become a model for efficient government and open democracy.

Open government improves city services, encourages public participation, and sets the foundation for a more prosperous future. We must also recognize that an underlying purpose of open government is to put residents, businesses and politicians on a level playing field so that no one can use the control of information to enrich themselves while bankrupting our city funds and preventing the public from uniting to face the big challenges ahead.

To achieve real reform, city government must stop working like Greg Meffert, and start working for change like Vivek Kundra. As Mayor, I will remain committed to the principles of open source, open data, and open participation. Here are some of the specific steps I will take to make New Orleans city government and open government.

1) Transparency through Technology and Contract Reform

Open Government Executive Order
Within 100 days of taking office, I will issue an Open Government Executive Order to declare our City’s commitment to open government and establish a citywide culture of transparency, accountability, and public participation. The Order will clearly provide the open government requirements of each City agency and set deadlines for action. First, each City agency will be directed to publish government information under their authority that is not considered confidential on the NOLAstat website. Second, agencies will be directed to improve the quality of government information by ensuring that all postings are up-to-date, accurate, and relevant to public requests. Finally, each City agency will be directed to formulate an Open Government Plan that establishes a detailed roadmap for complying with the Order and publish that plan online for public review.

NOLAstat
I will begin our City’s movement toward a more open and responsive government by implementing NOLAstat, a City website that will serve as a clearinghouse of raw government data available for public searches and download.

Visitors to the site will be able access up-to-date crime statistics; government contracts posted in real time; data on vacant properties and blight hearings; information on businesses such as building permits and liquor licenses; details of construction projects both planned and ongoing; school system information such as registration forms and performance statistics; Master Plan initiatives such as planned infrastructure improvements; and public meeting times and location information searchable by ward, department or project. The interactive website will encourage public participation through open-source applications and by linking users to city services, providing a forum for citizens to post public comment for relevant projects; and incorporating mechanisms for public feedback and input.

The NOLAstat website will ensure that residents have access to information about government data that affects their everyday lives. By providing residents with information and the resources to communicate directly with City agencies, my administration can more effectively align City services with the needs of residents and allow residents to hold their government accountable.

2) Efficiency through Technology and Work Activity Management

As Mayor, I will improve access to city information and services by hiring a management team that includes a Chief Information Officer (CIO), a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and a Chief Performance Officer (CPO). These positions will be filled through a search for the best and brightest advocates for open government, not simply through patronage and clout. Working as a team, these innovators will oversee our city data services: the CIO will be responsible for making sure that information is reliable and available from city agencies; the CTO will make sure that the information is accessible to the public; and the CPO will ensure that our city agencies are acting efficiently on data and service requests.

My administration will use technology to ensure that city government operates in the most fair and cost-effective manner. We will develop transparent computer programs that allow us to determine the fair market value of services before we request proposals from businesses. This method will ensure that we have a fair value on which to base our comparison of bids for city contracts. As Mayor, I will prevent the city from entering into a contract on any bid that is significantly above the established fair market value for services. By measuring the real cost of services, we can also determine whether it will be more cost effective to hire people to work in-house or outsource those services to a private company. These innovations will allow city officials and the public to make an informed choice about what to do with taxpayer money.

3) Accountability Through Citizen Connectivity

NOLA311
As Mayor, I will oversee a complete overhaul of the NOLA311 information program. I will ensure that dialing 311 means citizens will connect to a call center staffed with trained call takers who serve as more than just operators; they will function as customer service representatives for all City departments and agencies. I will ensure that NOLA311 utilizes web-based information so that call takers have easily searchable information on all City departments and agencies. In addition, NOLA311 intake will provide an easy-to-use tool to track calls, look up information using keyword searches, and send service alerts to the appropriate City Department. Most importantly, our City departmental work order systems will be integrated to 311 so service alerts go directly into a department’s system, allowing departments to respond to a citizen’s service requests more quickly and efficiently. As Mayor, I will require monthly reports from all departments on the productivity of their 311 service requests.

iCommunity New Orleans
We need to narrow the digital divide, especially for residents without reliable access to the internet. As Mayor I will reach out to private sector partners to create an iCommunity by providing computers and internet access through our public libraries, community centers and schools. A truly accessible iCommunity must have public wifi so that we can get lower income communities connected. In the long term, we will work with the Louisiana Fiber Optics Network Initiative to upgrade to fiber optic connectivity for residents and businesses.

Public Records Requests
A central part of each department’s Open Government Plan must deal with improving the public records request process. Currently, each public records request results in a delivery of documents to each requestor—a process that can be time-consuming and laborious for both the member of the public requesting documents and the governmental custodian who is responsible for delivering the documents. The process can also be duplicative, expensive, and wasteful of resources when multiple members of the public request the same or similar documents that must be repeatedly delivered. Through the Open Government Executive Order, I will direct each department to devise and implement procedures to post public records requests on the NOLAstat website where they can be freely reviewed by other members of the public with no further expense or inconvenience to either the public or the government. I will also empower citizens requesting public records to specify how they want to receive them, whether in hard-copy printed form or through the online database.

While I’m fully committed to “open government,” I’m equally aware of the threats to privacy that can arise in the context of openness. Accordingly, I’ll appoint a task force of city personnel, civic organizations, city residents, and others to devise a set of policies governing privacy rights and ensure that sensitive information such as social security numbers, medical information, and other personal data is not revealed. Where questions arise regarding the release of potentially private information, we will give notice to the affected individuals and afford them an opportunity to challenge the release of such information.

Public trust in government depends utterly on the public’s ability to observe government documents and deliberations. My administration will do its utmost to earn the public’s trust by affording unprecedented access to public records. We will make government a partner rather than an adversary in the dissemination of public information. We will make “open government” a hallmark of the next administration.