Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed her executive budget on Tuesday. This massive $233 billion spending plan includes packages to address everything from the housing crisis to swimming pools, but left out one of the state’s major problems: Government transparency.

When Hochul, a Democrat, took office, she pledged that her administration would usher in a new era of government transparency. After her very first address as governor, in fact, Hochul said: “I want people to believe in their government again.”

When Governor Hochul first took office in 2021, she promised a new era of government transparency. She committed to restoring New Yorkers’ faith in their government by improving transparency and increasing government accountability.

The New York Coalition For Open Government has documented large scale non-compliance with the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law at the local level. For example:

• 72 percent of towns not posting meeting documents online
• 25 percent of towns not posting meeting minutes or a recording
• 39 percent of counties failed to acknowledge a FOIL request within five business days as required by law
• 75 percent of planning boards not posting meeting documents online
• Only 25 percent of villages posted meeting minutes online
• 35 percent of villages did not even post a meeting agenda
• Out of 158 school district executive session motions reviewed, 61 percent were not in compliance with the Open Meetings Law

Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed her executive budget on Tuesday.

This massive $233 billion spending plan includes packages to address everything from the housing crisis to swimming pools, but left out one of the state’s major problems: Government transparency.

Elected officials should begin 2024 by conducting the public’s business in an open and transparent way. To show their commitment to open government, elected officials serving on a village board, town board, city council, or a county legislature should introduce and pass a New Year’s resolution stating they will:

— Post timely notice of all meetings at least one week prior to all meetings;

— Post meeting agendas and all meeting documents online, at least 24 hours before a meeting occurs;

— Post draft meeting minutes online, no more than two weeks after a meeting occurs;

— Allow members of the public to speak at the beginning of a meeting regarding agenda items and non-agenda items whether attending in person or remotely;

— Livestream their meetings by video and post the video recording online afterwards;

— Conduct private executive sessions only on rare occasions in accordance with the New York State Open Meetings Law. Just because you can hold an executive session does not mean that you have to. A motion to hold an executive session to discuss “litigation,” “personnel,” or “collective bargaining” is not sufficient, as the Open Meetings Law requires motions to state more information when holding an executive session;

— Agree to not hold private political party caucus meetings. There is no reason at the local level to hold private political party caucus meetings to discuss political business or public business. Secret meetings cause a lack of trust among the public;

— Have information regarding the Freedom of Information Law posted in a visible place on your website. Proactively post documents online as much as possible so that the public can access information without having to file a FOIL request. Post an easy fill-in-the-blank form that assists the public in filing a FOIL request by email on your website; and

— Commit to ensuring that all FOIL requests are acknowledged within five days as required by law and that information is provided to the public promptly.