The Parkville Board of Aldermen made a formal commitment to open government and transparency after years of allegations that city government has been anything but that.
The board adopted a resolution at the Tuesday, July 19 meeting, with alderman Brian Whitley and mayor Dean Katerndahl discussing the need.
Over the past several years, residents and members of the Citizens for a Better Parkville group have criticized the city and then-mayor Nan Johnston of violations of law, of state ethics guidelines and of failure to follow its own development process. The Creekside development project – which is now under way – triggered accusations from the Citizens for a Better Parkville group prior to the pandemic. Another group of concerned citizens arose last year during discussions of construction of ball fields in Platte Landing Park. That development has been postponed to allow for another public engagement process.
“Sometimes there’s been a perception that we’re maybe not as open as we should be,” Katerndahl said. “In fact we have tons of items, documents on our website, but they’re not always as easy to find as they should be. We’re going to focus on those things.”
Katerndahl spoke of concerns of the recent past involving the development process and community engagement. He hopes to put those fears to rest.
City administrator Alexa Barton said when she began her job with the city earlier this year she was told by alderman Greg Plumb that some would tell her the city has problems with transparency.
Barton said most information is available online but it may not be readily apparent how to access it. City staff will have 90 days to determine the path forward and bring their ideas back to the board for discussion.
The resolution sets forth four areas of concentration, involving information transparency, process transparency, community engagement and public accountability.
“The City of Parkville strives to make available information on government policies and actions so there is a clear sense of organizational responsibility and accountability, thereby assuring our community that government is efficiently and effectively administered conveying the important components of transparent and inclusive governance,” the resolution states. “City leadership of Parkville is committed to a transparent and open government where citizens and business leaders can obtain the information they need to understand how important decisions that affect their well-being are made.”