A proposal by Councilman Carl DeMaio to post city of San Diego contracts online in an easy-to-read format for the public cleared the City Council's Rules Committee today.
The unanimous vote sends his proposed “Sunshine Law” to the City Attorney's Office, which will draft an ordinance and present it at a future meeting of the full City Council.
The law, if passed, would require the city to post financial data and city contracts online in “a centralized and easily accessible format,” DeMaio told committee members.
“We believe that this would not only improve transparency but it would also reduce costs to the city in handling Public Records Act requests,” DeMaio said.
“And if you post contracts online with more details, our hope would be that you invite more bidders, (since) they understand what the city is currently receiving, what the pricing is, what the requirements are, and we would be able to get the information out to small business owners (and) minority contractors,” said the councilman, who is running for mayor.
The city's Purchasing Department puts contracts worth $25,000 and over online, but he said the details are vague. He said he would like to put entire contracts online, minus proprietary information.
Councilman Todd Gloria supported DeMaio's proposal, and pointed out that while much of the information is already available, it is not easily obtained by members of the public.
–City News Service
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