Open by default
Routine public information should be published proactively instead of waiting for formal records requests.
McIntosh Open Government Initiative
Open meetings. Open books. Open tax decisions.
Transparency should not stop at minimum legal compliance. My goal is to make McIntosh County a leader in practical, resident-friendly open government.
Why open government matters
I do not believe transparency should mean doing the bare minimum required by law. Residents should not have to be insiders, lawyers, or accountants to understand what county government is doing.
Open government means open meetings, open books, open contracts, open tax decisions, and fast access to public records. It means posting information before people have to ask for it, explaining decisions in plain English, and measuring whether county government is actually meeting its own standards.
That is the idea behind Looking Glass. It is a practical example of the kind of county government I want to help build: one where taxpayers can see the numbers, follow the decisions, understand the tradeoffs, and participate before decisions are already made.
McIntosh County can lead Georgia — and set a national example.
With tools like Looking Glass and the Property Tax Report Card, McIntosh County can give residents something rare: plain-English access to budgets, tax history, assessed values, spending, contracts, meetings, and public decisions in one place.
I am not interested in transparency that exists only on paper. I want transparency people can actually use.
No surprises. No hidden paperwork. No mystery spending.
If the public paid for it, the public should be able to find it, understand it, and question it.
Full meeting transparency
Agendas, packets, draft minutes, videos, transcripts, and plain-English summaries should be easy to find.
Guaranteed public comment
Public comment should be predictable, fair, and resident-friendly at every regular commission meeting.
Budget and tax transparency
Residents should be able to see proposed budgets, adopted budgets, amendments, millage scenarios, and tax impacts.
Checkbook-level spending
Residents should not have to wait for the annual audit to understand where money went.
Contracts in the open
Major contracts should be visible from solicitation to closeout, including scoring, recommendations, and change orders.
Audit accountability
Audit findings should be tracked publicly with responsible departments, deadlines, and closure status.
One-stop records access
Residents should know exactly where to request records and be able to track response status and timing.
Plain-English decision memos
Before major votes, residents should see what is being approved, why it matters, what it costs, and who benefits.
Looking Glass is the proof of concept.
Looking Glass is not just a campaign slogan. It is a working model for what open access government can look like: budget data, tax history, assessment information, financial dashboards, and resident-facing explanations.
The Property Tax Report Card is one tool inside that larger idea. It helps separate assessment-driven increases from millage-driven increases and gives residents a clearer picture of how tax bills change.
Transparency scorecard
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Agendas posted before regular meetings | 7 days whenever practicable |
| Agenda packets posted | Same day as agenda |
| Action summaries posted | Within 1 business day |
| Meeting videos posted | Within 24 hours |
| Open-records initial response | Within 3 business days or faster |
| Contracts posted after execution | Within 7 days |
| Audit findings with public status | 100% tracked to closure |