So much for transperancy.

Today's Boston Globe has an article about how the legislature prepares its budget. Most of it is done behind close doors away from public scrutiny. The article has a quote from Common Cause Massachusetts Executive Director Pam Wilmot. "It is all closed doors, from soup to nuts," said Pamela Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts. "I don't think there's another state -- at least I haven't come across another state -- that has a similar process that is closed to the extent this one is." (Someone should explain to lobbyist Jackson C. Hall that democracy depends on openness which includes public debates.)

Every taxpayer should be outraged by this. Other states are recognizing the value of open government; Massachusetts is still back in the 20th (19th?) century. When are the legislators going to stop patronizing the voting public? When is the voting public going to start holding the legislators accountable?

Proof is in the Override Pudding

This spring a number of communities have held or are holding votes on overrides. You can read about some of the overrides on the Boston Globe's override central page. My hometown, Saugus, is one of those communities. The interesting side effect of the override campaign in Saugus is the apparent growing realization by town officials and others of the usefulness of the Internet in getting the word out about the reasons for the override. The town has posted the proposed budget for FY 2008 and the financial statements for FY 2007, something the town did not do previously.

It looks very doubtful that the override will pass in Saugus. It has become painfully obvious during the campaign that one of the factors working against the override is the perception by some people that information was kept from them. These people say they are voting against the override because they do not trust the public officials.

I am convinced that a lot of the distrust people have over the override is related to the failure of the town to be completely open about its activities in the past before the override was even considered. Eventually the perception of secrecy causes more problems than if the government had been completely open earlier on. Hopefully, Saugus public officials, and public officials in other communities experiencing similar campaigns, have realized that openness in government benefits not just the governed but also the governors.