NEWSROOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bill O’Reilly, 914-619-5252

 

                  ASTORINO PLEDGES COMPLETE TRANSPARENCY IN 

                                          WESTCHESTER COUNTY GOVERNMENT
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                  Will Put Key County Documents Online for Public Viewing
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                       Says Days of FOIL Request Demands Will be Over

 

Yorktown Heights, NY-May 17...Reform Westchester County Executive candidate Rob Astorino, who is running for County Executive to "stop the tax madness", streamline government services and restore a high standard of ethics to County government, today announced that, as County Executive, he will institute a policy under which county documents, including contracts, administrative expenses and other important records, will be made available online so that the public and members of the news media can see everything his administration is doing and every dollar it is spending.

This policy would be in stark contrast to the current administration's policy which demands arduous and time-consuming Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for virtually any document.

Mr. Astorino said his open-book policy would make government officials more careful about spending public dollars and far more accountable in their every-day duties. Several states and counties around the nation already are doing this successfully. An example of how it is done in Missouri is provided here: www.mapyourtaxes.mo.gov

"The days of secrecy and information road-blocks in Westchester County government must end," Mr. Astorino said. "Under Andy Spano, county spending has exploded and Westchester residents now pay the highest taxes in America. If the public and news media had better access to what was going on behind closed doors, I guarantee you Westchester government would be run more efficiently today.

"Westchester County should be the leader in transparent government," Mr. Astorino continued. "We have the most sophisticated constituency in America, yet our government remains antiquated. Transparency in Westchester County government will be a breath a fresh air."