It’s not exactly a revolution, but for DC government it is quite revolutionary: The DC Council’s budget deliberations, which in previous years have been held behind closed doors away from public view, will be televised today on Channel 13 live as well as streamed on the Internet. The meeting will start at 10 this morning. Room 123 of the John A. Wilson Building will show the hearings live for members of the public who wish to view them at City Hall.
Chairman Gray decided to televise the proceedings following a request from 40 organizations and citizens across the city, including DC Fiscal Policy Institute, to make the meetings open to the public. Last year, Gray allowed the press to view the proceedings. We are pleased Chairman Gray took this important step toward greater transparency in DC government.
Gray is one of seven co-sponsors of a bill currently before the council that would make any meeting in which a quorum of DC Councilmembers are present, such as the budget deliberations, open to the public by law. We hope the “Open Government is Good Government” bill, introduced by Councilmember Muriel Bowser, will have a hearing soon.
In today’s meeting, councilmembers will likely discuss programs they wish to restore money to that did not get addressed in committee markups as well as revenue proposals. Stay tuned for a summary and update tomorrow!
