CE Astorino unveils new section of Web dealing with transparent governmentAs part of his efforts to make county government more transparent, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino last week announced a new initiative that allows the public to view digital images of county contracts on the county's official Web site. This tool is the latest in a series of steps that further disclose the county's finances to the public.   

"During my campaign, I made a pledge that I would not only seek to reduce the cost of government, but that I would shine a light on exactly how the public's hard-earned tax dollars are being spent," said Astorino. "Providing digital images of the county's contracts is a significant step toward this goal. I will continue looking at ways to open up county government to the people of Westchester."

A new section of the county's Web site titled "A More Transparent Government" will house links to Astorino's transparency initiatives. One of the first steps the county executive took toward this goal was to open up the Board of Acquisitions and Contracts by providing links to the meeting agendas and minutes on the website.

Astorino also praised County Legislator Sheila Marcotte for making this proposal a priority on the Board of Legislators.

"I applaud County Executive Astorino for making this initiative a reality," said Marcotte. "This is something I have long supported and now for the first time, the public will be able to view exactly where their tax dollars are going. This step will go a long way toward restoring the public's trust in county government."

Previously, the Web site only provided the vendor name, contract period and amount of each contract along with the department that will manage the services performed. Any more detailed information required filing a Freedom of Information Law request.

To prepare for this, county departments have undergone a process to review over 2,000 contracts that were executed since Jan. 1, 2010. This review was necessary to ensure that information is not disclosed that would violate applicable laws, rules or regulations; endanger the security of residents or facilities that the county operates; or create a financial liability for the county. As a result, some of the contracts will have redacted information.

Here is a list of information that requires redaction:

  • Any references to security systems or protocols;
  • Any medical information covered by HIPPA;
  • Any proprietary or technical information that a vendor has marked as such;
  • Any copyrighted or patented information that a vendor has marked as such;
  • Any personal identifying information, such as Social Security numbers or address of a personal residence;
  • Federal employer ID numbers;
  • Liability insurance policy numbers;
  • Workers Compensation insurance policy numbers;
  • Bank routing and account numbers;
  • Contact information for references from proposals, and
  • Any other confidential information that the county is prohibited from making public either by law or by a provision in the contract.

Each contract is scanned and then goes through the redaction process. Once complete, the redacted digital image will be made available to the public immediately after each contract is executed by the county.