DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan issued an executive order Thursday to dramatically increase the volume of city information available to the public.
Duggan hopes it will break down what he called the "historic mistrust" between the city and its citizens and allow the media and the public to give closer scrutiny to the city's business.
Want to know who just bought the house next door? An on-line map will tell you. Want to know if the eyesore down the street is on the city demolition list? Blue dots on the map represent homes scheduled for knockdown.
Did your neighbor pull building permits for his latest project? You can check that as well. If it is subject to a Freedom of Information request it will eventually be posted at Detroit's Open Data site (check it out here).
A crime report will be posted within an hour of its completion, allowing the public to do something the chief feels could be a potent anti-crime weapon in the public's hands.
"Our community is going to contact us and say, 'We see a trend of robberies, say, along Gratiot. What's going on and what are you doing about it?' That's the kind of partnership we want," said Police Chief James Craig.
In coming months, city contracts will be posted for scrutiny along with every financial transaction. That kind of easy access and sunlight could prevent the kind of corruption seen in recent years.
"You know how this town is. Somebody is going to email and say somebody's cousin did this or did that. I get these things all the time, and when we see that we'll know what to do," said Duggan.
A citizens advisory committee will be created to help referee disputes on what should be made public and make sure the system is living up to its potential.
To that end, the mayor is expected within the week to demand the 100-plus appointees in his administration to file disclosure documents detailing any family members doing business with the city.