Proposal on ethics, transparency and government reform in Palm Springs
A proposal on ethics, transparency and government reform in Palm Springs was set to go before the City Council for a second time Wednesday night. The move comes as a former mayor and two developers face charges in a bribery and corruption scheme.
There are at least 30 suggestions included in the report, which was put together by the subcommittee on ethics, transparency and government reform. It includes Mayor Robert Moon, Councilmember Geoff Kors and 40 residents. It is the next step toward establishing legislation that aims to prevent corruption in the city’s government.
“Based on the feedback, I’ve worked to create more than 30 recommendations in the ethics, transparency and campaign finance areas,” councilmember Kors told KESQ News Cannel 3’s and CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner.
Some of the recommendations included a watchdog hotline, competitive bidding on city-owned property sales, campaign contribution restrictions and an upgrade to the city’s website that would include direct public access to financial and other important documents.
“Most of these take us significantly beyond state law requirements,” Kors said. “It will really put us at the cutting edge for a city of our size anywhere in the state of California.”
Some residents and downtown business owners said they were ready for the changes.
“This will be a good thing for the city and, just, the next person in line. I just hope it doesn’t happen again,” said local Enoch Roberts.
“It’s been a long time coming and there has obviously been a lot of problems downtown but I’m thrilled to see a City Council that sort of addresses it head-on and really faces the issues,” said Jeffrey Bernstein.
Bernstein is co-owner of Destination PSP, which sits right across from one of the projects that was allegedly a product of the former corruption. He said that while he thinks the regulations will help, the responsibility still falls on the shoulders of residents.
“I think part of the issue is that business owners and residents really have to be involved,” Bernstein said. “I think that for a long time, people just weren’t really paying attention.”
You can also watch the meeting online. Tune in tonight at 1 p.m. for an update.
