Delta County MI Board of Commissioners Meeting: Openness and Transparency Sets the Development Stage (1-17-2023)

“Diogenes looking for an Honest Man”

by Caesar van Everdingen 1860

The Commissioners meeting is on YouTube!!!! 🕺💃🥳 Ok...its a little exciting. I mean I like to watch and play sports too but this is the real stuff! Decisions count and often impact our long term prospects. The way in which we make decisions determines whether or not long term success can occur. While not every decision everyone is going to agree with, and don't expect all decisions to be called the way we want it, what we can do is encourage decision making that leads to a more prosperous community. The goal is to encourage strategic focus and thoughtful mindfulness of one's choices that lead to incremental development of a pro-growth business and quality of life environment (Business and quality of life enhance each other in well designed clusters.). You can get the agenda at DC Commissioner Meeting 01-17-2022 (No info in it. 🤷 Videos up!🎉). 

Ok...nothing too exciting. They talked about ethics (Kind of interesting painting above on honesty and ethics. No reflection here in specific. Its just in general concept of ethics, governance, and people.). That is very important for the general development because trust is the root of all business. If local government works in an ethical manner it will often draw resources (There are multiple constructs that impact "mindset for growth"). Those governments that are committed to their roles, transparent and competent will likely have a positive influence on local development (You have to pull a lot of studies to justify that independently but it is generally supported in the literature.)

Info Availability Invest

The first study I came across and I think there is some truth to it! (Its not the full study and I normally wouldn't include only the summary but its just supportive.) See Accountability and 
Transparency Study of village government in Indonesia. Findings are 1.) competence and organizational commitment were positively associated with accountability. 2.) organizational commitment and accountability are not association with transparency. 3.) transparency is positively associated with community trust but not accountability.  

Lesson: competence and organizational commitment help raise a sense of accountability. In general, transparency is positively associated with community trust.

The second study I came across is a little more appropriate. You will want to read Government Openness and Public Trust: The Mediating Role of Democratic Capacity "Findings indicate that structural openness is, in general, positively associated with higher trust. Further, the effect of openness on public trust is partially mediated by an individual's perception that they have meaningful opportunities for political participation."

Lesson: Openness is associated with trust and the ability to participate in political process mitigates that relationship.

What should we learn? Having open and transparent meetings encourages new opportunities to increase trust in local government. At another date we will discuss how that same open mindset (i.e. public facing information written/organized to attract interest and investment). For the most part, seems to be functioning as intended. Other readings. Virtual Community, Info Availability, Venture Capitalism, Invest Hedge DC, SME Invest,