Our Plan

The Problem

We are confused about how our money is being spent by our local government – how much, on what, and why.  Local government means our cities and towns, the county, our school corporations, our libraries and the townships.

We want to better understand our local officials’ decisions and the results they are achieving.  In order to do so, we need access to more useful information, as well as, improved communications from our elected leaders.

The Solution – a Five-Point Plan for Our Elected Officials

1. Vision – Communicate your vision, role, overall priorities, goals and objectives in a plan.
2. Outreach – Reach out to us directly and engage us in a presentation about goals and priorities, how our money is being spent and how performance is being measured.  Give us the opportunity to provide feedback through citizen townhalls, workshops and surveys.
3. Transparency – Provide information that facilitates our understanding of how much money you’re collecting, how it’s being spent and with whom, changes over time, potential conflicts of interest and voting records on major issues.
4. E-Communication – Provide timely access to information on the Internet for the major operations of local government.  Not just documents, but audio and video too.  Enable online feedback.  Email updates to interested subscribers.
5. Results – Measure performance against specific objectives, continually monitor it, publicly disclose and discuss it.

The Benefits

For voters, a better understanding of how our money is being spent and better mechanisms to provide feedback to our public officials.

For elected officials, a more understanding, better informed and engaged constituent base.

Call to Action

We are asking our current elected officials and candidates for office to pledge their support to the VOTER First! plan and its implementation.