From the Argus Leader, Councilor Christine Erickson is helping to introduce a measure to bring some transparency to city contracts, as they usher the ‘Huether Era’ out the door:
A pair of city councilors wants more transparency around certain contracts being proposed by Mayor Mike Huether.
City Councilors Christine Erickson and Marshall Selberg plan to introduce an ordinance that will require the mayor to open up facility management contract drafts for public inspection no fewer than seven days before councilors are asked to vote on them.
“Not only will the City Council get it, but the public will have access to it for a full seven days,” Erickson said this week.
And..
After hearing some input from Council Vice Chair Erickson this morning, I don’t see any concerns,” Huether wrote. “It makes common sense and business sense to do it, but of course there may be some rare cases where this could cause an issue, but I am sure it can and will be worked out, as we always do.”
Sometimes you see a great idea, your first reaction is to just say duh! I am 100% small “r” republican in that I think our representatives are empowered to make most decisions and our power comes from feedback and at the ballot box. But when you have a dictator for a Mayor, feedback is denied. It is a shame we needed a law to deal with this. But just another Huether legacy, like living beyond our means for his entire term.