Opinion

Can Open Access to Municipal Data Work in Sacramento?

2011-02-01T00:17:51Z

The Greater London Authority has created a website called London Datastore. I learned of the GLA and the London Datastore in article in one of the January Time magazines titled “London: Turning Access into Apps” by Mark Halper. The article is part of a series titled “Intelligent Cities.”

It was this specific article that started me thinking. Although London, England, is a very different city from Sacramento in so many ways, would this open access to municipal government data work in Sacramento?

The GLA (a cross-borough agency) has directed all London government agencies and civil servants to dump all their data into the Datastore. The data is then available to citizens and groups to mine through for free.

Many of the apps (short for applications for the non techie) created simply make life easier, such as better bike routes, underground schedules, traffic routes, etc.

The ones that caught my eye were the ones that created more open government. Two cited in the article were Open Knowledge Foundation, which has created a site called WhereDoesMyMoneyGo.org, and Pushrod Ltd., which built OpenlyLocal.com. One of the direct financial gains is the reduction in the cost of government contracts when the data is public.

This begs the question: Would citizen access to municipal data in Sacramento help prevent such things as the very costly building and utility department scandals? These and other legal problems for the city occurred while Ray Kerridge was city manager. Many city residents consider Kerridge as notoriously restrictive of citizen access to any information, including municipal data.

Former city manager Kerridge and former council member Hammond Photo: Bento

The Time article actually starts with a quote from London Mayor Boris Johnson: "Sunlight is the best disinfectant."

As far as Sacramento is concerned, would there be resistance to opening city data to citizens? I can easily imagine there would be. Just to begin with, this involves change, including one of the most difficult, change of culture. It also has the potential to expose employees who are not doing their job.

Would the city of Sacramento do this voluntarily? I believe the initiative to do this would have to come from the mayor and City Council. Do any of them have the intestinal fortitude to push this much more open government, let alone find enough support for majority approval?

Mayor Johnson Photo: Darnell

Council members Cohn and Fong Photo: Darnell

Could this change be forced on the city? The initiative is a very powerful force in California. I am certainly not an expert on citizen initiatives and do not know if it could be used in this application. I am clear that there are forces within and outside that government that, for their own interests, would fight voter approval. (See building department scandals above.)

And finally, are there citizens and groups that would acquire this data and make positive use of it? I would answer unequivocally yes. There are groups and citizens that already use data now available, demand data under the freedom of information act and sue for data that have stopped or greatly altered major projects and policies. One example is changes to the construction of HOV lanes on US 50. Citizens reviewing data from the city parking division ended the practice of charging for visitor permits for residential parking permit areas.

There is also the financial incentive. While some techies might create apps from data for the fun of it, others would create apps that provide greater convenience to sell at what the market will bear. Undoubtably others would use the data to reduce the cost of government and therefore fees and taxes.

I would encourage SacPress readers to read the Time series online and learn how cities, big and not-so-big, are using their government data to improve the lives of their residents and make their governments accountable and think about what would work in Sacramento.

Marshall School Closure Blow to Central City Renaissance

2009-10-29T19:05:14Z

The sudden directive by Sacramento City Unified School District that California Montessori Project must abandon the Old Marshall Elementary School has done more than disrupt the lives of the students, parents and faculty. It has the potential to strike a major blow to the renaissance of the central city. One of the primary reasons families choose where they live is what schools are available. CMP had operated successfully out of the Pioneer Church for eight years. The site did limit the size of the enrollment. When SCUSD deemed Old Marshall School safe for charter school and offered it to CMP, after careful consideration they accepted the offer. CMP was thrilled to have a beautiful building that could be used for it's original purpose and they could expand to meet the strong demand for more student enrollment. Central city neighborhood leaders also expressed their enthusiasm for Old Marshall School returning as an elementary school with a program that attracted more families to Midtown and the surrounding area. This accelerated the trend of families moving in and the stabilizing effect they create.

The directive to move out of Old Marshall includes help moving and an alternative site. Unfortunately this school is far removed from the central city. At Tuesday night's CMP emergency board meeting, the accepting environment of Midtown and the CMP school was cited by sexual and racial minority parents as a prime reason for where they live. Many other families are the “New Urbanists”. They choose to live in neighborhoods that are reviving old homes, are mixed use and walkable. Having an excellent school that reflected their values is a major component of the mix. Now having their children bussed or having to drive them themselves creates new issues of safety and convenience.

What is to become of Old Marshall School is also a great concern to central city neighborhood leaders. If it sets empty it becomes a magnet for graffiti and vandalism. Will other uses be compatible with the neighborhood? Frankly the administration of the adult education program previously housed in the school was outright hostile to the neighborhood.

Many of us believe that SCUSD, the City of Sacramento and the neighborhoods need to work together to return Old Marshall School to being a high quality elementary school. The deficiencies in the building need to be clearly identified, the cost to remedy these deficiencies set out, and a plan to carry out fixing the problem developed. This needs to be done for the sake of a high quality historic building and a liveable central city. The SACOG Blueprint identifies the central city of Sacramento as the area with the largest amount of infill. To be successful families need to be part of this infill. Without the option of an excellent elementary school this will be very difficult.

Midtown neighborhoods alarmed by unsafe activites at event.

2009-06-29T19:10:10Z

Kings fans welcomed their new players to Sacramento. This was in a small neighborhood Midtown park. Attendance was reported as a few hundred. Pretty low turnout for such an event. The event was arranged at the last minute and in a venue that had never been used by the Kings before. Another regionally advertised event, The Block Concert Series, was occuring at the same time.

The neighborhood was freaked out when high powered pyrotechnics were illegally fired into the neighborhood at the end of this event. This was callous disregard for the safety of the lives and property of this neighborhood. To understand the full implications of what occurred, speak with Niko King or Jim Doucette in the fire department regarding the extreme risk of fires spreading rapidly through the densely crowed neighborhoods of Midtown. The one city park employee monitoring the event was pretty much helpless in dealing with the situation. There were police there. They aided and abetted the illegal action by closing 28th Street (with no permit) and standing around while pyrotechnics were fired. There was no firefighting equipment present.

The on going concern is that this follows a pattern that has gone in regard to special events in and around Marshall Park. There is a last minute request for an event. Approval is always given. Something goes wrong. No one is held accountable.

When is the City of Sacramento officials going to learn that this massive overuse of a small nieghborhood park is to the benefit of a few and the detriment of many?