Cotati, Cupertino and Hillsborough recognized for excellence in transparency
Transparent California is pleased to announce the first ever recipients of its Sunshine Award, which recognizes public agencies for exceptional service in responding to, and fulfilling, public records requests.
The recipients of Transparent California’s inaugural 2019 Sunshine Award are the cities of Cotati, Cupertino and Hillsborough, all of which have a history of excellence in fulfilling their transparency obligations, according to Transparent California Executive Director Robert Fellner.
“When we first started Transparent California in 2013, many public agencies viewed the California Public Records Act as a burden to avoid, rather than a fundamental obligation of public service,” Fellner said.
“In recent years, however, we have witnessed a remarkable shift in culture across the state, with most agencies now embracing their transparency obligations,” Fellner continued.
“We applaud the cities of Cotati, Cupertino and Hillsborough for consistently excellent service in the fulfillment of our records requests and look forward to recognizing additional agencies for similar excellence in the future.”
Beyond being a fundamental right, transparency in government is vital to helping detect waste, fraud and abuse. Data and reporting from Transparent California has helped numerous agencies implement reforms and otherwise improve spending practices, like when the City of Industry realized it was being so badly overcharged by its existing health insurance provider that it was able to provide higher-quality health insurance plans to employees while simultaneously slashing costs by 60 percent.
Transparent California will be updating the site with new, 2018 data for cities and counties in the coming weeks. Be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter accounts, sign up for our mailing list, or subscribe to our blog in order to receive the latest updates.
For more information, please contact Robert Fellner at 559-462-0122 or Robert@TransparentCalifornia.com.
Transparent California is California’s largest and most comprehensive database of public sector compensation and is a project of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a nonpartisan, free-market think tank. The website is used by millions of Californians each year, including elected officials and lawmakers, government employees and their unions, government agencies, university researchers, the media, and concerned citizens alike. Learn more at TransparentCalifornia.com.
