Atlanta City Councilmember Felicia Moore briefed the Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods at its Jan. 8 meeting about her ongoing efforts to access city financial records.
Moore has requested access to Oracle, the city’s financial reporting system, to view payments made by the city. Moore was denied access in October in a letter from Mayor Kasim Reed, who accused Moore of “Washington-style politics” and for making a “naked political grab.”
“I’m not resting on the ‘no’ from the mayor,” Moore said. “It’s our money, your money, and I think we should have access.”
Moore said the the information she wants to access is the same information that other cities post online in real time for the public to read, citing New York, Los Angeles and Austin.
“I’m concerned by the pushback from the mayor,” Moore said. “What’s the big deal? What’s in there that you don’t want me and the public to see? It’s public money.”
The councilwoman said she wanted the public to contact mayor’s office and demand more transparency. She’s also planing to take courses in using Oracle, so the city can’t use her lack of knowledge in the operating system as another excuse to block access.
According to the Georgia Public Interest Research Group’s report “Transparency in City Spending: Rating the Availability of Online Government Data in America’s Largest Cities,” Atlanta received a grade of “F” in terms of governmental transparency.
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