Politics & Government

Is the Sun Shining on Local Government in Dixon?

With Sunshine Week happening this week, we'd like to hear from you about the state of transparency in our local government. Who are the champions of open government in Dixon? What needs improvement?

Sunshine Week, a national initiative launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors to educate the public about the importance of open government, it kicked off March 11. We here at Dixon Patch want to use this opportunity to celebrate, converse, comment, debate and educate about the importance of open government and the public’s right to know what government is doing and why.

This year Sunshine Week, funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation of Miami, is co-sponsored by ASNE and the Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press and many other media industry partners, including Patch. The goal is to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. 

In California, there are two acts that provide open access to public meetings, The Brown Act and The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.  We also have the California Public Records Act that gives citizens access to all kinds of public information that is useful to communities.

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here in Dixon, we've seen some significant improvements in government transparency, including the addition of live and archived streaming for all City Council and Planning Commission meetings.

Currently, there is a push to gather enough signatures to put a Sunshine Ordinance, authored by Dixon resident Ourania Riddle, on the ballot. During last night's meeting of the Dixon City Council, the council acknowledged Sunshine Week in Dixon and talked a little about the Sunshin Ordinance that's currently up in the air. 

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here a two things about which we'd like to hear from you:

  • Have you faced any challenges with government transparency in our town, whether at , Dixon Unified School District or elsewhere? Share your stories below in the Comments section or email me at carlos.villatoro@patch.com and I'll share them with our community.
  • Are there any policy you'd like to see our local government agencies institute to improve transparency? Post them in the comments section below or email me at carlos.villatoro@patch.com.


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