City ponders placing bills online

SANDPOINT - Improving communication between the city and its residents has been a hot topic for months, and Wednesday the council will vote on a proposal that one councilman believes could help bridge the information gap between the people and their government.

The proposal, which was introduced by Councilman Michael Boge at October's Administrative Committee meeting, would require the city to post its monthly bills online, giving residents a chance to see how the city is using its resources.

"The essence of this is to provide transparency to the city residents that we serve by showing them how their money is being spent. By using the city's Web site, which is already in place, it would serve as a vehicle to accomplish this at minimum cost," Boge said at the committee meeting.

The city's relationship with residents has been under a microscope lately, most recently in the aftermath of the failed Local Improvement District for building sidewalks, where a number of residents criticized the city for what they saw as a lack of forthrightness.

After hearing residents say they want more governmental transparency, the council began thinking of ways to better incorporate them in the city's political process. The city began including information on upcoming events in its utility bills, and members of council recently begin looking into ways to make attending council meetings easier for the public.

Boge said the council is taking steps in right direction, but admitted there is still work to be done.

"I feel like as a portion of government, we can do a lot better job with this, and instead of following what everybody else does, why not make our own model of what can be done as far as letting the citizens know what we're doing?" he said.

If the plan is adopted, treasurer Shannon Syth said it would be relatively easy to implement. Because not every expenditure, such as garnishment of wages or employee health care accounts, would be available for public viewing, Syth would have to prepare two sets of monthly bills - one with all the information for council viewing, and one available to the public.

The council will hear the item Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at city hall.