[..] Until now, the board has met the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 9:30 a.m. in the county board room on the seventh floor of the Anoka County Government Center.
Having some of the meetings in the communities will give more people an opportunity to attend them and be part of the process, according to Sivarajah.
“It will make sure that the county board is accessible, accountable and transparent,” Sivarajah said.
In past years, people running for county board have talked about having some meetings away from the government center, but it has never happened, she said. [...]
Other changes recommended by Sivarajah and put in place by the county board relate to travel and training expenses and who has approval authority. [...]
For county board members and other elected county officials, Sivarajah proposed and the county board approved a $5,000 cap on annual expenses for the costs of conferences, institutes, training programs and related travel.
There was no limit before and other counties do have caps in place, Sivarajah said.
In the past, these expenses have been spread over a number of budget areas; now they will come from once place in the budget, according to Sivarajah.
“This is a compromise, but it is still generous,” Sivarajah said.
That’s because in addition to the $5,000 cap, county board members also have $5,300 a year in allowable expenses for doing county business in the metro area for which receipts must be turned in, according to Sivarajah.
These and other changes to travel and expense policy are an effort to show some leadership in holding down those expenses in these tight budgetary times, not only for the county, but also for taxpayers, too, Sivarajah said.
These include a provision that off-site approved meals without an overnight stay will be reimbursed only if outside a 100-mile radius of the Anoka County Government Center.
“It is not necessary to have all these business lunches,” she said.
Corporate America has moved away from those type of expenses and the county is just now catching up, Sivarajah said.
“It is an attempt to bring these expenses under control,” she said. “It is up to us to make some sacrifices.”
The proposed 2011 travel and general expense reimbursement policy brought discussion and some disagreement at Tuesday’s board meeting.
County Commissioner Dan Erhart had a lot of questions about the policy changes and wanted those addressed in a committee setting before coming back to the board for action.
He was not against saving money and, in fact, paid for a lot of expenses he incurs as a county board member out of his own pocket, Erhart said.
But if the board wants to make cuts, then he said he was prepared to propose reductions in big ticket areas.
Big ticket items, by their nature - by having that big ticket attached, deserve attention. But little half-million ticket things such as overpaying for a county facility's siting land, also might need scrutiny.
The Watchdog must be cheered by change.
Now with a new cabal holding the reins is no time, however, for any true watchdog to relax vigilance. It just might mean having to bark up a new tree; but please bark as loudly when missteps are perceived, as the barking was done, previously.
Old dogs can learn new tricks; and sound and consistent watchfulness is always the key to a watchdog remaining credible and useful.
Now is as good a time for watchfulness, if not more so, than before.